With a gorgeous weekend for watching if not playing soccer forecast, here's a preview of the options on tap locally this weekend.

Chivas USA plays D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center and live on Fox Soccer Channel, while the Galaxy is on the road in Dallas for a game that airs at noon Sunday on Telefutura.

It's a big day in England Saturday with the annual finale to the season, the F.A. Cup final. The game begins at 7 a.m. local time on pay-per-view and at your favorite English pub.

In live action, W-League expansion team Pali Blues plays its first-ever game in Pacific Palisades Saturday against the Los Angeles Legends.

In the Pacific Development League, the Lancaster Rattlers plays the Los Angeles Legends at 7:30 tonight at Cougar Stadium in Glendora.

Other PDL games this weekend include:
Ventura County Fusion at San Jose Frogs
Southern California Seahorses at Lancaster Rattlers at 7 p.m. at Pete Knight High.
Orange County Blue Star at San Francisco Seals

Have a great weekend. I'll blog from Carson as usual Saturday and be back later with a game preview.

Posted at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew, Fontana's Maurice Edu of FC Toronto and Chivas USA's Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan were among a pool of 33 players U.S. Coach Bob Bradley has selected for consideration for three upcoming friendlies.

Rogers is one of five uncapped players included in the pool. Others looking for their first cap: San Luis Obispo's Chris Seitz, Orange's Michael Orozco, Modesto's Heath Pierce and goalkeepers Troy Perkins and Dominic Cervi.

DaMarcus Beasley returns to the squad after injury.

There is at least one surprise. Or as one colleague so eloquently put it when he saw the pool: (former Galaxy forward) "Nate frikkin Jaqua???"

Prominent names not included: Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, Bobby Convey (injured) and Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein of Los Alamitos, who suffered a serious knee injury last week.

Pool: goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United); midfielders Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids); forwards Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich).

The U.S., which is on a five-game unbeaten run, plays in England May 28, Spain June 4 and against Argentina in New Jersey June 8. The three games lead up to the June 15 opening World Cup qualifier against Barbados at Home Depot Center.

The 22-man roster for the England game will be announced next week.

Said Bradley: "With the challenging schedule of friendlies we have organized to prepare for World Cup qualifying, this is an excellent opportunity to continue to evaluate our player pool and at the same time balance the workload. Many of our players have just completed seasons in Europe, and the MLS schedule is in full swing, so it is important that we manage the time wisely to give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the important matches this summer."

Posted at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Damaged Goods

OUT - Charles Alamo (R-Knee Surgery)

DOUBTFUL - None

QUESTIONABLE - Ely Allen (R-Hamstring), Edson Buddle (R-Hamstring), Landon Donovan (R-Calf), Alvaro Pires (L-Knee), Carlos Ruiz (R-Knee Surgery), Peter Vagenas (R-Quad)

PROBABLE - Ante Jazic (R-Ankle Surgery)

Jazic played for the first time since December on Tuesday against Vancouver and will continue to train this week. All other injured players, with the exception of Alamo, are schedule to take part in portions of training this week in the lead up to the game against FC Dallas this weekend.

Meanwhile, Alamo continues on the second phase of his rehabilitation process

Barca Back

Barcelona played CD Guadalajara at the Coliseum in 2006, as part of a three-game U.S. tour, drawing 1-1 in front of 92,650.

Olympic Run-In

"It's always good to get great games before you go to the Olympics and what better team to play than Brazil," said U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx of Torrance, who has started 12 of the 14 games the USA has played this year. "It's always an exciting game playing Brazil so these will be good tests to give us confidence heading into the Olympics. Obviously, we didn't do well against them in the World Cup so it will be beneficial for our team to play them a few times beforehand in case we do meet them in China."

UCLA Schedule

The Bruins will have nine games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Here are the home games at Drake Stadium:
Date Opponent
Aug. 29 Maryland
Aug. 31 UC Riverside
Sept. 12 Indiana
Sept. 20 Santa Clara
Sept. 28 Cal State Northridge
Oct. 1 UC Santa Barbara
Oct. 5 San Diego State*#
Oct. 17 Washington*
Oct. 19 Oregon State*
Oct. 31 California*#
Nov. 2 Stanford*#
Nov. 5 Cal Poly
* Pac-10 Conference game
# Doubleheader with UCLA women's soccer team

Posted at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CONCACAF made official today what was widely expected anyway, naming Chivas USA as one of four U.S. entries in the inaugural Champions League that kicks off this summer.

Chivas USA qualifies by virtue of owning the second highest points total during the MLS regular season.

That slot was originally allocated to the U.S. Open Cup champion (thereby making that neglected competition more meaningful), but winners the New England Revolution qualified anyway by being MLS Cup runners-up, allowing Chivas USA to move into that slot.

The other U.S. qualifiers are MLS champions the Houston Dynamo and D.C. United, who collected the most points during the regular season.

Chivas USA is one of 16 entrants (eight receive a bye in the preliminary stage) that will play home and away games Aug. 26-28 and Sept. 2-4 to qualify for the round robin final 16 stage played Sept. 16-Oct. 30.

Chivas USA will learn its first round opponent June 11 when the draw is conducted.

Also today, voting begins for the MLS All-Star game against West Ham United July 24 at the league Web site.

Robbie Rogers' exploits last weekend earned him a profile here.

Despite what the article says, Rogers grew up in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula as most readers of this blog know by now. We're not going to let Surf City claim him.

Posted at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 in Edmonton Tuesday with David Beckham nursing a sore foot by game's end.

Great.

And where is Peter Vagenas?

A helluva less pointless game is Wednesday's Glasgow Rangers-Zenit St. Petersburg UEFA Cup Final.

Locally, there's a free viewing party for Rangers fans at downtown Torrance's best dive bar The Crest.

Kickoff is at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

Lastly, UCLA has signed U.S. youth international midfielder/forward Eder Arreola (Chino Hills/Edison Academic Center), forward Prince Lapnet (Silver Spring, Maryland) and defender Victor Yanez (Riverside/Patriot High) to national letters of intent

Posted at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For today's column I looked at the imploding Chivas USA defense and the potential consequences for their season.

Meanwhile, David Beckham and the Galaxy arrived in Edmonton Monday for tonight's extraneous game against the Whitecaps where more than 30,000 tickets have been sold.

Longtime injury victim Ante Jazic may return to action tonight for the Galaxy.

Landon Donovan will apparently be absent though, while Canadians are lamenting Beckham's likely non-appearance at the game against FC Toronto at month's end.

Incidentally, the game is televised beginning at 6 p.m. locally on Channel 22.

Posted at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Coach Peter Nowak named three Galaxy players to an experimental U.S. Under-23 National Team squad for the upcoming Toulon Tournament.

"This tournament will give us an opportunity to have a look at some players we have had in previous camps, and also a look at the new faces," said Nowak. "We don't want to be short-sighted with our selection for the Olympics. We want a whole picture that includes a variety of players, and to make sure we see every option before we make final choices."

Selected were Mike Gavin, Bryan Jordan and Julian Valentin.

The U.S. plays Turkey May 21, Ivory Coast May 23 and Italy May 25.

All games are on Fox Soccer Channel.

The full squad: Goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), Quentin Westberg (Troyes AC); defenders Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Eric Brunner (out of contract), Kyle Davies (Southampton), Michael Gavin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Jonathan Leathers (Kansas City Wizards), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Julian Valentin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Rob Valentino (New England Revolution), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas) ; midfielders Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Greg Dalby (SC Charleroi), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Lee Nguyen (Randers FC); forwards Gabe Ferrari (Sampdoria), Bryan Jordan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ellis McLoughlin (Hertha Berlin), Sammy Ochoa (Tecos).

No recall for Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers, but then if Nowak was paying attention over the weekend, he knows what the Columbus Crew midfielder is capable of:

Updated: Rogers' two-goal performance earned him MLS Player of the Week honors (his first such award) Monday from the North American Soccer Reporters.

It's is the Crew's best-ever start to a season and Sigi Schmid's, too.

Posted at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It didn't take long for the New England Revolution to begin counting the cost of its first-ever victory over Chivas USA in Southern California.

Striker Taylor Twellman, whose 59th minute winner was his first of the season, was visibly distressed after the game with the severity of an apparent second half ankle injury that almost resulted in him being pulled just 14 minutes after coming on as a half time sub.

"My fingers are crossed for myself," he said. "It doesn't look good, but what are you going to do?

"I can't even walk on it right now, that's what scares the shit out of me" he said, adding he initially believed Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas had kicked him (he hadn't).

Twellman said he could have had a second at game's end, but for the injury.

"I would have had a second if my ankle was attached to my leg," he said. "That was the most painful shot I've ever taken."

Twellman was initially slated as a starter for the season opener against Houston, but was removed from the lineup after experiencing discomfort in his right knee during warm-ups.
He underwent surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on April 2, and returned just ahead of the expected six to eight rehab period.

Twellman, fifth on the MLS career goalscoring list, scored his 92nd career goal, his fourth in four games.

Chivas USA Coach Preki was in a fatalistic move after the game.

"We scrambled to put a back line together," he said. "We did a decent job. But we had a couple of break-downs and we got punished."

Preki described it as a "strange game," observing that the early domination of Chivas USA did not result in goals, which "took the wind out of our sails."

"In a lot of ways, I thought it was a little bit of a lop-sided score," he said.

But, he noted, Chivas USA remains just four points out of first place in the Western Conference.

Quote of the day goes to Preki: "It is what it is," he said. "What we have is what we have."

Um, yeah.

Also noted:
*Steve Ralston made MLS history at the 16th minute, becoming the first player in MLS to reach the 30,000-minutes-played mark.

*Today marked Ralston's first start since the season opener when he dislocated his left shoulder, forcing him to miss the next five games.

*Ralston's assist today was his 34th career game-winning assist, giving him sole possession of first place on MLS' all-time list. He had been tied with former Tampa Bay Mutiny teammate Carlos Valderrama.

* Former Galaxy defender Chris Albright also got his first assist for the club today.
"Those are the best kind, the ones you don't have to work for," he said.

Incidentally, Albright is enjoying his new career in New England.

"The veterans on this team have such a good work ethic," he said. "That's what makes this team go. The best players on this team show up and put in 110 percent every game."

Next up for 1-4-2 Chivas USA: D.C. United at home on Saturday.

Where were all the moms? The attendance today was just 10,927.

Updated: Game details are here.

Posted at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In retrospect this was a game the Revs had all but sewn up by half time when striker Taylor Twellman was introduced.

He duly scored 14 minutes after coming onto the field to make the final score 2-1, out-running journeyman Jim Curtin and making him look like the ordinary defender that he is while tracking onto a Steve Ralston pass.

Twellman could have had a second four minutes from time, but sent the shot wide.

Chivas USA Coach Preki manfully attempted to stave off what seemed inevitable introducing midfielder Daniel Paladini for his first MLS game (and promptly collecting a yellow card after an awful challenge on Larentowicz).

Preki also sent on strikers Atiba Harris and Justin Braun.

Braun actually tapped in his first MLS goal from Galindo in second half stoppage time, but it was too little too late.

More from the locker rooms later.

Posted at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It didn't take long for the makeshift Chivas USA back line to become the story of the opening 45 minutes, the Revs taking a 1-0 lead on a Kenny Mansally strike, his second of the season.

But Chivas USA spurned a couple of early chances to allow the Revs to take the advantage.

MLS debutant Bobby Burling (LMU) put a chance over the bar in the third minute, while Jesse Marsch, with acres of space alone in front of the net, somehow shanked an Ante Razov cross wide.

The Revs countered in the 18th minute, easily breaching the Chivas USA rearguard when Jeff Larentowicz threaded a ball through a porous defense to find Mansally, who slotted home the ball past a helpless Brad Guzan. Former Galaxy defender Chris Albright initiated the sequence.

It could have been worse.

Guzan tipped a dangerous Mauricio Castro shot over the bar shortly before half time to ensure the Revs didn't double their lead.

Moreover, Eric Ebert almost gifted the Revs a goal in the 16th minute, an errant back pass to Guzan picked off by Mansally, who was stopped by an approaching Guzan.

Two notes: apparently Cary Talley was signed from Real Salt Lake already injured, which pretty much sums up the plight of Chivas USA.

Also, after the Galaxy game a member of Legion 1908 committed an "act of violence" against a Galaxy fan and was suspended for two games.

In solidarity, members of Legion 1908 decided to boycott today's game.

The team has adoped a no violence no tolerance toward violence policy in the wake of several reported instances of fan problems, including a stabbing of a Chivas USA fan in Houston, club officials said.

Posted at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's not just the stands that are bare this morning, so is the Chivas USA (1-3-2) squad.

It's virtually an all new back four for Chivas USA against the Revs (3-3-1).

Shavar Thomas is the lone holdover, with Eric Ebert making his first MLS start and Bobby Burling of Loyola Marymount his MLS debut, alongside veteran Jim Curtin.

The rest of the starting XI is the same as the one that began the scoreless draw against the Dynamo last weekend.

Brad Guzan mans the net, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura and Panchito Mendoza are the midfielders, while Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo are the attackers.

New signing Carey Talley isn't even on the bench.

Chivas USA are seeking their first win in four games.

The Revs are in similar disarray, looking to halt a run of one victory in the last four games.

Coach Steve Nichol reverts to a three-man back line from the team that lost 3-0 to Chicago last weekend.

Former Galaxy favorite Chris Albright, Jay Heaps and Michael Parkhurt line up in front of goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

In midfield, it's Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz and Mauricio Castro.

Kenny Manselly and Khano Smith are up front.

Chivas USA will undoubtedly be relieved that striker Taylor Twellman, who is not fully
fit, starts on the bench although he's expected to see action around the 70th minute or so.

Twellman must relish his chances against the inexperienced Chivas USA defense.

Before I forget, as expected Manchester United pipped Chelsea for the EPL crown today.

Posted at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good morning to all the mothers who will be whisked off to a futbol game in a couple of hours, injury-stricken Chivas USA taking on the inconsistent New England Revolution at noon at Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA points out how they're going to make the game worth mom's time in their press release:

Mom gets free admission to the game, a complimentary flower (in Chivas colors of Red and White) and a '#1 Mom' Appreciation Certificate upon arrival at the gate. In-stadium, Mary Kay will be on-hand providing complimentary makeovers to all Moms at the popular ChivaTown fan zone, while Donna Karan and Avon will also be distributing complementary perfume and cosmetics samples.

For those who are unable able to bring Mom to the game, Chivas USA's Official Wireless Provider, Sprint, will give fans the opportunity to 'Make a Call to Mom on Us' with special call centers, offering free phone calls within the United States and Mexico, inside the stadium. (Limit one five-minute call per person.)

Meanwhile, on the field, Chivas USA invites Moms to get involved in the action, as a 'Parade of Moms' processes around the playing surface before kickoff; 'Dream Moms' and 'High-Five Moms' accompany the 22 players onto the pitch; and 'Ball Moms' keep the soccer action going on corner kicks, throw-ins and goal kicks.

As for the actual game, there are previews here and here.

In other local action, the S.F. Quakes surrendered a two-goal lead against the Ventura Fusion Saturday.

In the opening game of a doubleheader, the W-League Pali Blues won their first-ever game 5-0 over the Fusion.

In other local PDL scores Saturday:
Fresno Fuego 2 Southern California Seahorses 1
San Jose Frogs 2 Lancaster Rattlers 0
Los Angeles Legends 0 Bakersfield Brigade 0

Former MLS star Eric Wynalda was subbed out by the Brigade in the scoreless draw.

Meanwhile, the U.S. women went on a tear Saturday against Canada.

Happy Mother's Day.

Posted at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If this were a London tabloid, the headline would read "Reeling Ruud Rips Becks."

In actuality, of course, the criticism of David Beckham by the Galaxy coach was couched in more eloquent terms than that, but it was criticism nevertheless.

"He played too far up," Gullit said. "Mikey and David, they played themselves out of the game."

Credit in part goes to Dave van den Bergh, said Red Bull Coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who credited the former Dutch international with "very effectively" playing against Beckham and visibly frustrating him.

Beckham almost conceded he had met his match in the experienced former Ajax midfielder.

"It's always nice to have a battle on the field," he said, acknowledging a "couple of clashes" that were "nothing out of the ordinary."

Incidentally, Beckham agreed with Gullit's assessment of his performance.

"There were certain times I may have been too forward," he said adding that he was perhaps a little too preoccupied looking for a "killer pass" to split the New York defense.

He acknowledged too, the more than a hint of fragility that cloaks a Galaxy team so dependent on himself and Landon Donovan, who was largely invisible in the second half especially.

"People can't rely too much on Landon scoring every week," he said. "We have to find ways of beating teams when some players aren't scoring and others aren't assisting."

Quote of the Night from Becks, commenting on the team's inexperience: "We're still young - some of us."

Ruud didn't sound in the mood to use youth as an excuse and obliquely criticized his veteran players.

"Sometimes in a game, I don't know what it is, we switch off," he said. "We think we can do it with talent. That's not the case, we have to work hard."

"We battled well, I don't think we played well," Gullit said. "It cost this team a lot of energy to come from a goal down."

In contrast, Osorio was pleased with a "massive" three points and going undefeated three games in a row now.

"We have gotten results with different systems," he said, adding the team had been successful both with three at the back and four at the back. "The team seems very solid and we have allowed teams very few chances."

A handwritten sign left behind in the stands after the game perhaps summed things up: "We want more goals, Landon," it read.

Game story here..

Almost forgot: Sorely-missed striker Carlos Ruiz is expected back from injury perhaps as soon as the May 24 game against Kansas City.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning that Galaxy Equipment Coordinator Jose Vega worked his last game with the team Saturday before starting work as equipment manager with the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Wilmington resident had been with the Galaxy since 1998.

Posted at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Both goals in this 2-1 Red Bull victory came within a two minute second half span.

The Galaxy (briefly) equalized, Alan Gordon spinning onto a Mike Randolph cross to squeeze off a shot between two New York defenders in the 77th minute.

But the Galaxy immediately fell asleep and New York regained the lead a minute later, Juan Pablo Angel sprinting past a static defense and getting off a shot that gave goalkeeper Steve Cronin no chance.

Jozy Altidore was largely invisible for New York, Landon Donovan wasn't much more visible for large chunks of the second half for the Galaxy, while Beckham worked his butt off to little effect.

He did get booked in the 67th minute for what appeared a deliberately late challenge on Dave van den Bergh that a press box colleague observed looked a lot like payback.

Beckham and van den Bergh had gone at it in New York last season.

Posted at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A goal by New York's Danleigh Borman in only his second MLS start separates the teams in Carson.

It was a closely contested affair in the opening half with both teams, perhaps aware of their defensive liabilities, determined not to give much away.

Clear cut attacks were a relative rarity for both teams, who are tied 3-3 in shots.

Alan Gordon actually had the ball in the net for the Galaxy in the third minute, but was clearly offside.

The goal came 21 minutes in, Hunter Freeman's long throw being met by Juan Pablo Angel who sent the ball into the path of Josy Altidore. His shot was blocked, but Borman was there to pick up the rebound.

New York arguably could have had a penalty as well after Troy Roberts appeared to pull down Altidore, but the referee rejected any claim.

Posted at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With striker Edson Buddle out with a hamstring problem, Alan Gordon constitutes the sole change for the Galaxy.

Coach Ruud Gullit's starting 11: goalkeeper Steve Cronin; defenders Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Greg Vanney; midfielders David Beckham, Joe Franchino, Brandon McDonald, Mike Randolph; forwards Landon Donovan and Gordon.

New York makes two changes with playmaker Claudio Reyna out injured with a calf strain suffered in the warm up before the Red Bull-Toronto 1-1 tie 10 days ago. Seth Stammler is also missing.

The New York line-up: goalkeeper Jon Conway; defenders Hunter Freeman, Jeff Parke, Kevin Goldthwaite; midfielders Dane Richards, Danleigh Borman, Luke Sassano and Dave van den bergh; forwards Jozy Altidore, Mike Magee and Juan Pablo Angel.

The Galaxy (2-2-2) record against (2-1-2) New York: 12-13-4.

Posted at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Galaxy Preview

But more importantly, it's BritWeek (more on that later).

Game preview here.

As usual, Red Bull Claudio Reyna is out injured for this one, proving yet again he's not New York's answer to David Beckham.

Speaking of Becks, the folks over at StubHub sent over these stats that show average Galaxy ticket prices on their site have almost tripled, while the volume of ticket sales has soared compared with 2007.

1st home game $26 (2007) Vs. $55 (2008). Sales volume increase: 450%.
2nd home game $28 Vs. $51. Up 60%
3rd home game $18 Vs. $46. Up 2000%
4th home game $32 4/26 Vs. $55. Up 400%

The Becks effect?

Meanwhile, the Galaxy, late in getting their youth development program going, have belatedly made a commitment.

From the press release:

Galaxy Rios, the official youth development program of the LA Galaxy, will enter a team in the USL Super-20 League for the 2008 season.

The LA Galaxy, who are one of three MLS teams to have a club placed in the Super-20 League, will be one of six teams in the Pacific Southern California League.

The coach: Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo.

The roster includes UCLA products David Estrada, Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates, Brian Perk and Michael Stephans; Rafael Garcia and Camillo Rojas of Cal State Northridge; Amani Walker of UC-Irvine; and U.S. Under-18 National Team player Tristan Bowen, the first player ever signed to the Galaxy Rios, and his brother Travis Bowen.

Wonder what the S.F. Quakes think about Nakazawa's departure from their squad?

Galaxy Rios opens their season 5 p.m. Sunday against the Ventura County Fusion at Ventura College.

Here's the complete season schedule:
May 24 vs. Poway Vaqueros 1:30 p.m. Home Depot Center
June 4 at Riverside MGFM (Kickoff TBD)
June 8 at Lancaster Rattlers 4 p.m. Lancaster National Soccer Center
June 15 at Poway Vaqueros 2 p.m. Poway High School
June 22 vs. Bakersfield Brigade 1 p.m. Home Depot Center
June 29 vs. Ventura County Fusion 5 p.m. Home Depot Center
July 5 at Bakersfield Brigade 5 p.m. Bakersfield Christian High School
July 12 vs. Lancaster Rattlers 1 p.m. Home Depot Center
July 13 vs. Riverside MGFM Kickoff TBD Home Depot Center

Chivas Deals

Over in England, Chivas USA midfielder Jorge Flores scored a goal and an assist in the first two friendlies for the U.S. Under-20 National Team on its short tour there.

Flores scored the game-winner on a penalty kick Wednesday in a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers Reserves and grabbed an assist a day later in a 2-1 win over Manchester United Reserves by a score of 2-1. The team plays Liverpool Reserves today.

The Chivas USA U-18 and U-16 teams both play Pateadores in away games this Saturday at Cal-State Fullerton.

The U-16 team, with two consecutive wins against conference opponents, plays at noon against first-place Pateadores team, with the U-18 game following at 2:30 p.m.

U.S. Women

The match in Sweden marks the return of U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage to her native country where she will face her home country for the first time as U.S. coach.

Local Games This Weekend

The Fusion's PDL team hosts the San Fernando Valley Quakes at 7:30 p.m. in the nightcap.

Other games include:
Fresno Fuego at Southern California Seahorses 7 p.m. La Mirada High
San Jose Frogs at Lancaster Rattlers 7 p.m. Pete Knight High.

BritWeek

Missed the earlier videos?

Click here and here and here.

Those who want to delve more deeply into the genre could do worse than checking out this box set (although I could quibble with a few tracks on the last disc).

Posted at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)