The New York Red Bulls won Saturday night. It was kind of shocking to some - no one really expected them to make it this far. After the game Saturday and with only a week until the MLS Cup the Red Bulls boarded their plane and headed back to New Jersey. It was now championship match preparation time. If they want any chance of taking down the Columbus Crew the Red Bulls are going to need a great week of focus and practice. But where is Dane Richards? He didn't board the plane after the game in Salt Lake. He flew to Jamaica instead.

Jamaica?

Without Dane Richards those 3 goals against the defending MLS Cup Champs the Houston Dynamo would have probably never happened. He obviously is a strong part of the team. Why would he head to Jamaica then? He went to join his Jamaican squad for a World Cup qualifier match against Canada. The thing is, he probably isn't even going to get to play in the match. Not to mention that they will need to win by 7 goals and hope the Honduras loses at home to Mexico.

Not the Only One

Dane Richards isn't the only player to be called to their international squad this week. Jorge Rojas and Gabriel Cichero both joined their Venezuela squad which will face Angola in a friendly on Wednesday.

Good or Bad

The players plan on being back with the Red Bull squad on Thursday. Still that's most of the week that they will have missed. Not to mention the flying and time zone changes. But they are professionals right? And they have prior commitments. It's just hard to think that they will be playing for the MLS Cup - the championship match of the league - on Sunday and they have to fly around the world to meet up and play with other teams - which one is a friendly game and the other is a no chance World Cup Qualifier.
The good thing is they are getting the national team experience. Even if they don't get to play that much - being their learning and watching will hopefully help them grow as a player, no matter their age. Plus, it's always good to have MLS players in national events to hopefully increase the fan base and following of the MLS.