Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Wednesday Wrap: Streaking, Beckham & More
Hot Streaks
Major League Soccer's two hottest teams are in Carson Thursday as Chivas USA (11-6-3), winners of three straight games, take on co-league leaders D.C. United (13-6-3), winners of six straight league games (although they lost a SuperLiga contest to the Galaxy in the middle of the string).There's plenty of motivation for both teams: Preki's Chivas USA can claim first in the Western Conference with a victory; Tom Soehn's D.C. United only needs a tie to claim the top spot in the league outright.
“Honestly, having David Beckham playing with the Galaxy has made us a stronger team,” Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein told the New York Times. “We felt we needed to prove ourselves and squirm out of the shadows. We came out and proved it against them last Thursday, and now I think we’re showing the soccer world that Chivas USA is really a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
Read the rest of The Times' take on the evolution of Chivas USA here.
D.C. United's Ben Olsen has never been the same player since getting struck with multiple serious injuries while playing in England a few years back, but is on a roll with a new role this season.
The game is live at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, but Chivas USA also have a "Guys Night Out 2-Pack" that includes two seats, two beers, a ChivaGirls 2008 Calendar and access to a special pregame ChivaGirls meet-and-greet. The cost is $40.
The David Beckham Effect
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson casts doubt on David Beckham's impact on MLS.Still, Beck's is apparently having quite the impact on the Galaxy's Chris Klein.
Incidentally, it appears the second ridiculous Galaxy friendly AEG lined up to make bucks off Beck's looks like it's off. It's shaping up to be a busy Galaxy off-season, too, what with planned trips to Australia and Vancouver, as well as Minnesota.
U.S. Open Cup Finalists Set
The Seattle Sounders vanquished Chivas USA in an earlier round of the U.S. Open Cup, but couldn't beat FC Dallas who will play the New England Revolution (victors Tuesday over the USL's Carolina Railhawks) in early October in the final.Here's a wonderfully written take from Seattle Times sports columnist Steve Kelley, one of the best in the country.
As someone who used to sit in the old Kingdome watching the Sounders play the Vancouver Whitecaps back in the NASL days (a terrific atmosphere even in that monolith), I'd love to see that recreated in MLS.