Kyle Beckerman sees first-half red against Portland

Kyle Beckerman saw red in the 30th minute against Portland Timbers, swinging his trailing leg in a tackle wildly at Fanendo Adi — although there was more than a hint of controversy to that one.

Referee Hilario Grejada may have judged Beckerman's trailing leg, and it looked like the RSL captain, after going to ground to tackle Adi, swung his leg toward Adi wildly. If that's indeed what happened, it's a bit naughty from Beckerman. If not, then it's a very poor decision.

Beckerman's red was RSL's second of the still-young season; Demar Phillips was sent off in Orlando's opener after picking up two yellow cards in the first 25 minutes of the match.

It's hard to say if Real Salt Lake is experiencing the same discipline problems it did last year — but early indications aren't entirely positive in that regard. Whatever the case, RSL is certainly in a better position than they were in years past when Beckerman received his red cards. The arrival of Stephen "Sunny" Sunday makes this one a little less painful.