July 2008 Archives

Apologies, busy with a big project and not much time to blog.

A few things to pass along:

*Pacific Palisades-based W-League team Pali Blues defeated reigning champion Washington Freedom 2-0 earlier tonight earning a berth in Saturday's final against FC Indiana. Game reports here. The final will air on Fox Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. Saturday (despite the wrong date being given at this writing in the link).

*Set your TiVo alert. David Beckham appears on the season opener of Sesame Street Aug. 22. Oh, and his latest pithy blog entry is here, too. But really check out the muppet (no, not Abel Xavier) with Elmo, um, Becks.

*Almost as surreal; Chivas USA's blog brings us up to date on the team news - from an LAX gate waiting area. There's Jim Curtin reading a magazine, Alecko Eskandarian slouching in a chair and stand-in Coach Mike Matkovich grabbing a Starbucks while reveling in the suspended Preki's absence from the bench Saturday:

"I don't think it would make much difference [not to have Preki in the bench] to be honest."

Well, OK I took that quote out of context. But that constant yelling can drive you nuts, huh Mike?

More on Chivas USA as they wait for their airplane to Chicago is here.

*Neither Jorge Flores of Chivas USA or goalkeeper Brian Perk of UCLA got on the field Wednesday as the U.S. Men's Under-20 Team beat their Wales counterparts 4-0 in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea scored a brace (and I just like using that word). Next: Belgium in the third place game early Friday our time.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced today that two more teams will be added by 2011, bringing the number in the league up to 18.

Ownership groups and/or markets have until Oct. 15 to apply. MLS will make a decision on the chosen pair in either the last quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2009.

I'm pulling for that combo casino and stadium with retractable roof in Vegas (can you say road trip!) for at least one of the teams.

And Vancouver, B.C. is a beautiful city and a natural rival for Seattle (loved the atmosphere of those NASL games between the old Sounders and Whitecaps where fans actually hit the road with the clubs).

Where would you like to see the next two teams located?

It will be an all MLS SuperLiga final with the New England Revolution, 2-0 winners over bad losers Atlante tonight, playing the Houston Dynamo Tuesday in Boston.

I only watched the last 10 minutes of the game (work intervened), but that was enough to see some ugly scenes at game's end for the second consecutive SuperLiga semifinal.

Five red cards (!) were brandished at Atlante players (several after the game) in what was a nasty conclusion.

And it was clear in the waning moments of the game Atlante were simply trying to get in some lumps with behind the legs two-footed tackles, late challenges and body checks.

(BTW, for those who don't know things got rambunctious at the end of Tuesday's Pachuca-Houston Dynamo game, too).

The silver lining for Chivas USA? They got knocked out by a team in the final of the tournament.

Well-moderated discussion of the game here.

Full disclosure: I'm Anglokixx in this thread.

Highlights

Also:
*USC striker Amy Rodriguez, essentially Abby Wambach's replacement, was profiled here.

*Galaxy rookie Bryan Jordan is going on loan to the USL Portland Timbers for the third time this season - until the end of the season. Will he be missed? From the Galaxy:

Jordan leads the Galaxy Reserve Team in goals this season, scoring four times in five games, including one in Monday's 2-2 draw with FC Dallas.

*And for those with nothing better to do at 8 p.m. Monday tune to Fox 11 to see whether the winner of the "Choice Male Athlete" award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards is David Beckham, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Eli Manning or Tiger Woods.for the award. Woo hoo!

Well, let's hope there's no repeat of Tuesday's temblor, but it seemed an apt headline in more ways than one as you'll find out if you keep reading.

*The U.S. Men's Olympic Team drew 0-0 with the Ivory Coast in Hong Kong in what was the wee hours of the morning our time. Cameroon is up Saturday in the final tune-up before the games begin.

*The Galaxy have finally confirmed their interest in Nolberto Solano (noteworthy in that Galaxy officials usually never confirm that sort of thing).

*Meanwhile, ultimate Soccer Insider Steven Goff reports on "rumblings" (told ya) that Galaxy owner Uncle Phil Anschutz is "none too pleased" with the performance of his team.

One would think General Manager Alexi Lalas might be on the hot seat, so why has Coach Ruud Gullit put his home up for sale? Especially considering the crummy housing market right now and the fact he presumably hasn't owned it long. Take a peek.

*The winner of tonight's second SuperLiga semifinal between the New England Revolution and Atlante (live 5 p.m. on Telefutura) will face Houston in next week's final after the Dynamo Tuesday dispatched cup holders Pachuca, 2-0.

*Lastly, AYSO has come home.

The 5.4 magnitude earthquake this morning in Southern California provoked the giddy extremes of fear - and fun - from players and coaches with the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

Here's Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit's reaction:

"It was the first time I have experienced this and I had my kids with me so I was worried sick. I didn't know what it was. People had told me to stand in a doorway so I went to my office and hid there. I have to say, it was a really scary experience. I hope it is the last one."

Hey, it wasn't as horrible as what Galaxy fans endured on the weekend, Ruud. And I bet it isn't the last one (on either count). Brace yourself.

In contrast, Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn was having way too much fun:

"When I first felt it, I thought something was wrong with my head - I thought maybe I was dizzy, or exhausted from heat. Then I looked around and everyone was saying 'Earthquake! Earthquake!' and I just enjoyed it. I could feel myself rocking back and forth, so I loved it!"

How's that head injury healing, Lawson? (Kidding, kidding. And to be fair, I heard more than one person use that F-word - different from the one you'd expect - in regard to the earthquake).

Complete and unedited earthquake coverage from the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

(Originally posted by Nick Green on July 29, 2008 7:13 AM. A problem with our blogging software today meant I had to repost this item this evening).

The Mexican season started resumed play this weekend, but you wouldn't know it by reading the English-language media in this country (and, yes, that is one of the only summaries I could find on the opening weekend of play on a Google News search. Thank you, Canada).

I do not profess to be any sort of Mexican soccer expert (and this is a good place to acknowledge the insights and suggestions of Chivas USA spokesman Keegan Pierce for his invaluable assistance in researching and writing today's column), but this piece is undoubtedly long overdue.

By the way, a reader observed that the reference in the lead to "American soccer fans" should have been "English-speaking American soccer fans." That person is correct.

Those who want to learn more should read this preview.

Incidentally, SuperLiga resumes tonight (the Houston Dynamo plays defending champion Pachuca at 7 on Telefutura, while New England Revolution plays Atlanta at 5 p.m. Wednesday).

Mark your calendar. Set your TiVo. Here's your soccer week in Southern California.

Sunday:
*Real So Cal Boys Under-16 Team lost 2-0 to Dallas Texans Red at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.

*Also, the Galaxy Reserves drew 2-2 with Dallas through goals by Alan Gordon and Bryan Jordan.

Today:
*Chivas USA midfielder Jorge "Sueno" Flores played 90 minutes in the U.S. Under-20 National Team loss to hosts Northern Ireland in the Milk Cup. Next on Wednesday: Wales.

Tuesday:
*SuperLiga resumes tonight with the Houston Dynamo and Pachuca clashing at 7 on Telefutura in the first semifinal; Wednesday it's Atlante-New England.

No LA teams involved now that Chivas USA is out so why am I mentioning this? See Tuesday's column.

Wednesday;
*Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan and the rest of the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team plays at 2:30 a.m. our time against the Ivory Coast in the ING Cup, a warm-up for the Olympics.

Thursday:
*The W-League Pali Blues play at the Washington Freedom in the semifinals; in the other game the FC Indiana Lionesses play the Seattle Sounders. The final is Saturday.

Saturday:
*Chivas USA (6-6-4) visits Chicago (7-5-5) and Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Chivas USA is two points behind Real Salt Lake for the Western Conference lead.

*Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women play in the Women's Premier League Final Four as the Pacific champion against Arizona (Big Sky), New England (East) and the winner today of the match between Midwest champion MYSC Lady Blues and Sunshine Conference champion Brevard County Cocoa Expos for the final berth.

Ajax beat West Coast FC 2-0 Sunday to qualify.

Sunday:
The Galaxy plays at San Jose at noon on Telefutura.

Condolences to those of you, who, like me, just gave up two hours of a lovely summer afternoon to watch FC Dallas massacre the Galaxy 4-0.

Two goals inside 90 seconds just after 15 minutes sealed the result, but it could have been 6-0 (or more). The Galaxy ended the game with just two shots on goal (Dallas had 14).

Debutant Eduardo Dominguez looked like the second coming of Abel Xavier, Ante Jazic played as if he was allergic to attackers and David Beckham and Landon Donovan were largely invisible.

I have the Galaxy PR folks' cellphone, but I'll skip calling and avoid talking to players and coaches. What do I ask? How humiliated are you? Have you ever seen a team you were a part of play that badly? Do you know what a goal looks like?

And yes, I'm sharpening the knives for the mid-season Galaxy and Chivas USA review I am planning for Tuesday's column.

These stats don't lie.

And remember, this was a sixth-place team against one bidding for first in the Western Conference.

Updated:
Game story.

Kudos to Kenny Cooper for showing the officials at Cardiff City in Wales what he can do for them.

They're happy in Texas though.

The Galaxy (6-6-5) and winless in their last five games could nevertheless move into first place in the Western Conference this afternoon with a win over (4-6-7) Dallas.

As the Galaxy moves into the second half of their season, Coach Ruud Gullit was still fuming about Thursday's MLS All-Star Game, while Dallas striker Kenny Cooper may well be preoccupied by his impending transfer to Cardiff City.

A capacity crowd is expected at Pizza Hut Park for the 4 p.m. game (live on FSN) because of you-know-who.

New Dallas Coach Schellas Hyndman is still seeking his first win for the sixth-place team, by the way. Game basics are here.

There are three other games today as MLS action resumes after the All-Star Game including New York-San Jose at noon on Telefutura.

In the PDL Saturday, the San Fernando Valley Quakes lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Canadians equalizing with 10 seconds or so left in regulation and then going on to win. More on the four-team PDL playoff tournament in Fresno is here.

A similar four-team tournament is going on in Anaheim where the Women's Premier Soccer League Pacific Conference playoffs saw Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women defeat the California Storm 2-0 Saturday to advance to today's final. They will face West Coast FC, which defeated the Sol 3-2.

The WPSL also named Ajax Coach Brian Boswell Coach of the Year Saturday as his team finished the season with five straight victories.

The Pacific Conference team First XI was also announced Saturday:
F Charity Weston (WEST COAST F.C.)
F Tessa Lennala (SAN DIEGO WFC SEALIONS)
MF Sissi (CALIFORNIA STORM)
MF Tracy Hamm (CALIFORNIA STORM)
MF Whitney Jones-Pridham (WEST COAST F.C.)
MF Crystal Howard (SONOMA COUNTY F.C. SOL)
D Kendal Billingsley (WEST COAST F.C.)
D Maureen Whitney (CALIFORNIA STORM)
D Amanda Harris (SONOMA COUNTY F.C. SOL)
D Dani Bosio (AJAX AMERICA)
GK Sophia Perez (SD UNITED)

Lastly, Real So Cal Blue's Under-16 boy's team plays for a national title today.

There isn't any.

Well, not much.

The closest top class local games today are in the Women's Premier Soccer League regional playoffs at Esperanza High in Anaheim.

Today's playoff schedule:
5:30 p.m. West Coast FC v Sonoma County FC Sol.
7:30 p.m. California Storm v Ajax America Women.

The Galaxy report rookie central defender Sean Franklin returned to training Friday with the full squad for the first time since injuring his knee July 10 against Chivas USA. His status for Sunday's clash against Dallas in Texas will be decided today.

And Aston Villa of the EPL now have two American goalkeepers named Brad, as expected. Chivas USA's Brad Guzan (who has his crucial work permit hearing Friday) is joined at the Birmingham club by Brad Friedel.

The non-stop running of Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan was the subject of this Olympic preview story.

And UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk and Chivas USA midfielder Jorge "Sueno" Flores of Anaheim were named to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team that will play in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland beginning Monday.

Running late today so just time to pass along a couple of items:

*Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan finds out next Friday whether he can complete his move to England's Aston Villa.

*Fed up with waiting for Lawndale's Kei Kamara to find the net on a regular basis, the San Jose Earthquakes have punted the Cal State Dominguez Hills product to the Houston Dynamo where he will hook up with equally productive (ahem) former Galaxy forward Nate Jaqua.

*MLS confirmed Thursday it intends to expand by two teams in 2011. The usual suspects: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Montreal, a second team in the New York area, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis and Vancouver. Bet I'm not the only Southern California soccer fan pulling for a successful Vegas bid (can you say road trip?) for a casino-stadium with a retractable roof.

*The Galaxy play at 4 p.m. Sunday in Dallas (live on Prime), while Chivas USA is off this weekend.

Game story.

Highlights:

Also:
* The latest Galaxy trialist

*The Revolution announced Thursday that more than 25,000 tickets have been sold for the Aug. 30 game against the Galaxy.

*Former Galaxy defender Nate Sturgis pulled a hamstring and is out of the Olympic squad. Dax McCarty of FC Dallas replaces him,.

Here's one response to my column today on David Beckham.

''Funny thing about American sports heroes, they have to perform to earn/retain their status. What has this over-hyped boy done except bundle away a lot of foolishly spent cash?''

The MLS All-Star Game airs live at 4 p.m. on ESPN from Toronto where the inaugural visit of David Beckham is naturally the big story (the natives have missed out on seeing Golden Balls twice before).

Our own Scott Wolf though is singularly unimpressed with Becks' effect on the sport so far.

EPL team West Ham United provides the opposition with a roster that includes England striker Dean Ashton and former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.

How good is Ashton? Check out his goal against Manchester United last season.

Meanwhile, blog Soccer By Ives provides the rumor of the day with the word that Norwegian club Rosenberg have bid $1 million for Galaxy striker Edson Buddle (although Buddle knew nothing about it). Landon Donovan also reacted to those rumors that have him more interested than ever in a return to Europe by saying, well, exactly what he's always said: that he's open to the idea and no move is imminent.

And while we're talking trades it looks like soon-to-be former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan will have a more experienced American in front of him in the pecking order as expected.

Lastly, blogger Dan Loney picks up on my criticism of the game Tuesday and provides his own view.

While speculation continues over the Galaxy's reported interest in former EPL star Nolberto Solano (see previous post), another rumor has resurfaced: the future of Landon Donovan.

The source of this one was two-fold.

Donovan was quoted by England's Sky Sports as saying:

"The older I get and the more I play, the more I'm yearning for that highest level I can play at. I think the Premiership would be the best place to play.''

The Web site Yanks Abroad further stirred the pot when it quoted Donovan's agent Richard Motzkin as saying "sure," Donovan would consider a move overseas by Aug. 31, providing an actual date that lends a sense of urgency to the story.

A couple of observations.

First that quote by Donovan is not new. I've heard him say pretty much the same thing annually since he returned from his aborted stint in Germany.

Donovan loves Southern California. Still, if any club outside Germany dangled a big enough contract at him (his MLS paycheck is relatively modest by EPL standards) you can bet he would consider it.

The second report is more notable for what it doesn't say than what it says. The Yanks Abroad report is technically correct, but they didn't need to run to Motzkin to get the Aug. 31 date.

Why?

That's when the European transfer window closes so Donovan would have to get traded by then or wait until the New Year.

So where does that leave us (and Donovan)?

Probably in exactly the same place as last week. Or last month. Or last year.

And remember, if MLS sold Jozy Altidore for $10 million as rumored, how much would they demand for Donovan?

That said Donovan will certainly be in the shop window at Thursday's MLS All-Star Game (live at 4 p.m. on ESPN).

ESPN observed today that:

"ESPN International will provide live coverage of the match in 87 countries and territories reaching more than 17 million television homes. Tape-delayed presentation of the 2008 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game will also be distributed in 19 countries and territories reaching over 22 million homes.

While we're talking numbers, the one-year anniversary of David Beckham's arrival in the U.S. has prompted a small tsunami of stories summing up his effect on the game here.

Perhaps the best though is one the fewest number of people have seen because it appeared in the subscription-only trade magazine the SportsBusiness Journal.

So for those of you who haven't (and can't) see the story here are the salient stats from it:
*"Television viewership on ESPN2 rose 17 percent to an average of 289,000 viewers over 15 matches in 2008, compared with 246,000 viewers over 13 matches in 2007. Ratings remained flat at a 0.2 cable rating."

*To put that in context the magazine observed "ESPN2 drew stronger ratings for its (midday) Euro 2008 coverage. ... Those games averaged a 0.6 cable rating and 673,000 viewers."

*"Average attendance for MLS over the first half of the season -- which will be Beckham's first complete season with the league -- increased 8.8 percent to reach a 12-year high of 16,378."

(To put that in perspective, those figures are skewed because of the massive 40,000-plus crowds Beckham draws in places like New York.

*"Beckham's Galaxy led the league in average attendance with 22,586 fans through 10 home games at midseason this year. Only three other teams -- Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC and D.C. United -- averaged more than 15,000 fans a game."

Returning to the subject of the MLS All-Star Game, after an altercation between West Ham United and Columbus Crew fans at a recent friendly between the two teams authorities will closely monitor the contingent of English fans arriving in Canada for Thursday's game.

If you read my rant Tuesday on the All-Star game (be sure and check out the comments at the end of the piece) you know how feel about it. I'm not the only one who questions its value.

Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers didn't sound too broken up about missing the game. But then, he's going to the Olympics.

Finally, former Los Angeles Times Chivas USA beat writer Jaime Cárdenas has bid an eloquent farewell to the newspaper (and possibly sports journalism).

Soccer writer Scott Wolf expanded on his earlier post on this blog about the possibility of the Galaxy signing Nolberto Solano (but frankly, I like saying Nobby) with a story today in the newspaper.

I've always admired Peuervian Solano, a player with panache and verve, but let's hope if the Galaxy do sign him they have more success than they did with Portuguese Abel Xavier (so inept he was dumped even with a guaranteed contract) and Nigerian Celestine Babayaro (last seen trying out with EPL team Portsmouth) who was cut before the season even began.

Ex-EPL foreign stars just haven't turned out so well, have they?

While we're at it, what's with the Galaxy's lack of disclosure about Solano?

If they're thinking about signing him, why don't they just say "we hope to reach an agreement on personal terms." If not, say so. A "no comment," (which is what the Galaxy have said so far) essentially means "we're talking to him, we just don't want to tell you."

Silly, considering (and correct me if I'm wrong) Solano is a free agent anyway.

Are the Galaxy worried other MLS teams will figure out who they're talking to? Too late.

The lack of disclosure until every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed is counter productive. Let's face it Galaxy, most sports fans don't care about you anyway. Throw a bone to those who do.

Updated: this video shows what Ruud Gullit (a former Newcastle United coach) likely sees in Solano -

NBC has unveiled what looks the most comprehensive Web site I've seen yet that covers the men's and women's soccer tournaments at next months Olympics.

Hey, you'd come with something like that as well if you'd invested jillions of dollars for the rights to the Olympics

Check it out here.

NBC has announced similarly comprehensive television coverage for soccer (although given the number of channels they're using the Web site is probably a must-have resource to figure out what's on where when):

NBC Universal will launch a channel exclusively dedicated to full coverage of Men's and Women's Soccer at the 2008 Olympic Games. A total of 32 Men's and 26 Women's Soccer Games will be shown in their entirety on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel, in addition to coverage on USA Network, MSNBC and live streaming on NBCOlympics.com. The seven NBC Networks -- NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD -- will provide an unprecedented 3,600 hours of coverage, all in high definition. NBCOlympics.com will also provide over 3,000 hours of on-demand access to full event replays and extensive highlights. The NBC Olympic Soccer Channel is available on most major cable, satellite and telephone companies and distributors.

And, no, I'm not a fan.

*The alleged MLS All-Star game is 4 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. I'll have more on that in Tuesday's column.

*The Galaxy play at 4 p.m. Sunday in Dallas (live on Prime).

*Chivas USA plays next Aug. 2 in Chicago.

*From the Women's Premier Soccer League:

Saturday at Esperanza High (Anaheim):
5:30 p.m. - South champion West Coast F.C. (7-2-1) plays Sonoma County F.C. Sol (6-3-1).
7:30 p.m. - North Division winner California (10-0-0) plays second-place south side, 2007 U.S. Open Cup champion Ajax America (6-3-1).

The winners of the Pacific Semifinals face off the next day in the conference final at 6:30 p.m. for the final berth in the WPSL Championship.

*From the USL:

United Soccer Leagues announced Monday the Premier Development League and W-League playoff schedules set to begin midweek with the Divisional Rounds and continue with the Conference Championship tournaments on the weekend. The 19-team PDL playoff field begins play today with the W-League's 13-team postseason field starting Wednesday.

PDL:
Conference Semifinal Saturday - Vancouver vs San Fernando Valley Quakes - 4:30 p.m. Fresno.

The Pali Blues won the W-League regular season title and a berth in the league semifinals in Virginia Beach.

*Noted: The U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team beat Germany 3-0 today to win the Nordic Cup. Bruins Valerie Henderson and Tina DiMartino played the entire game.

*Also, from the Galaxy press release:

The Galaxy Rios U-20's clinched the USL Super-20 League Pacific Southern California League title Saturday with a 6-0 win over Riverside MGFM. The Rios finished the season with a league best 22 points from a 7-2-1 record, while outscoring opponents 41-7 en route to the title.

Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach spoke to reporters today for the first time since breaking her leg in the final U.S. game before the Olympics July 16 against Brazil.

Here's what she said she thought about when the injury occurred:

"I realized in that moment and accepted in that moment that my Olympic dreams were not going to be what I had planned. I accepted the reality of this situation. This was a deep down acceptance of my reality. A lot of the times when you freak out about stuff is when you are more unsure of reality. It was an all encompassing moment. I wasn't freaked out."

Quotes from the whole interview are here.

Neither Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas nor Coach Ruud Gullit would comment today on reports the Galaxy are close to signing former Newcastle and Aston Villa midfielder Nolberto Solano.

Chivas USA plunged out of SuperLiga Sunday when Pachuca and Santos Laguna tied 1-1 in San Jose in the night's second game. Chivas USA needed Santos Laguna to beat Pachuca to stay alive in the competition.

It was difficult to conduct interviews with Chivas USA players after the 1-1 tie with the Revs simply because they couldn't really say much considering their future in the tournament was being decided hundreds of miles away as they spoke.

But here's Assistant Coach Mike Matkovich (subbing for Preki who is tending to a family emergency back home in Europe) on giving up the equalizer:

"Obviously we are disappointed. We're 12 minutes away (from winning), we lose a mark on a dead ball, we give up a soft goal. We've got a guy on the post and the goalkeeper gets his hands on it and then it squeaks in. ... I thought we were the better side, I thought we created better chances, no disrespect for them, but things didn't go our way today."

Jesse Marsch wasn't too happy about it either: "

That was a terrible goal to give up," he said "One of the worst goals we've given up in a really big game."

On the other hand:

"I think this was one of our best games of the year," (Gawd, I hope he's kidding because it wasn't pretty to watch). "If we played like that more often I feel like we can win a lot of games."

But not this one. Or SuperLiga.

A common complaint was the atrocious field, which was dry, had huge bare spots and generally looked like those Budweiser horses had been filming a few commercials on it lately. A Soccer United Marketing official observed the pitch was fine two months ago, but looked even worse two weeks ago than it did Sunday. He had no idea what happened in between.

"The field was terrible," said Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis. "We put a bid in to get (the game) and I don't know why we didn't. We may as well have played it in the parking lot."

New England Coach Steve Nicol agreed:

"To play a game like this on this field I think was a disgrace. ... There is no way you can play football on that field. It's meant to be a big tournament, an important tournament and there's no way it should have been played on this field."

Complete game story.

Highlights here.

A picture gallery of the action is here.

So the semifinals are set:
MLS champion Houston Dynamo hosts defending SuperLiga champion Pachuca at Robertson Stadium July 29.

The Revolution hosts Atlante at Gillette Stadium July 30.

If you're a Chivas USA fan, you're not pulling for Pachuca in the night's second SuperLiga game up in San Jose.

The 1-1 draw between the Revs and Chivas USA at Cal State Fullerton this evening means a Pachuca tie or win against Santos Laguna puts the Red and White out of the tournament.

Not the most scintillating game it must be said and for a while it looked like Ante Razov's sixth goal in six straight games in the 52nd minute would be the difference. Daniel Paladini had split the defense with a prescient through ball, Razov got on the end of it, shot straight at goalkeeper Matt Reis with his first shot, but scored with a second effort.

The Revs equalized in the 79th minute from a Steve Ralston corner kick, Shalrie Joseph getting the header in that beat goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and Daniel Paladini, who was standing on the line.

New England, by the way, are through to the next round.

Back later with post-game comments.

Horrible field (and you thought Home Depot Center was bad), horrible half.

It would be an understatement to say scoring chances were few and far between - they were virtually non-existent.

The best scoring chance came just before half time, Jesse Marsch blasting a shot from about 20 yards that required the hands of a diving Matt Reis to push around the post.

Apart from that Ante Razov had a shot that went wide, while Chris Albright sent a header wide at the other end.

Five changes to the Chivas USA starting lineup from the team that faced Santos Laguna Wednesday (or as one press box observer said, the A team is back).

Dan Kennedy is in goal, while Claudio Suarez and Bobby Burling return in central defense, Cary Talley is at right back and Pancho Mendoza at left back (although he and left half Jonathan Bornstein have been switching off in recent games and presumably could again).

Also in midfield: Sacha Kljestan, in what is his last start until he returns from the Olympics; while Dan Paladini gets a rare start (Paulo Nagamura is suspended) and Jesse Marsch returns.

Up front is Atiba Harris and Ante Razov.

Among the options on the bench: new Mexican striker Roberto Nurse (frankly awful against Santos Laguna) and Jorge Flores.

The Revs are without the injured Taylor Twellman, while Pat Phelan (concussion) and Mauricio Castro (groin strain) didn't make the trip either.

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Matt Reis is in goal, behind a back four of Chris Albright, Amaechi Igwe, Michael Parkhurst and Jay Heaps.

Midfield: Sainey Nyassi, Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz.

Attackers: Kheli Dube and Kenny Mansally.

Looks to be a tiny crowd here at Titan Stadium in Fullerton for this one.

The game is on Telefutura.

Chivas USA is calling today's third and final SuperLiga group game against the New England Revolution the biggest in club history, which isn't saying much when the team is three years old, but sounds good, I guess. Tickets start at $15 for the 5 p.m. game (live on Telefutura) at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

It's a Preki-less Chivas USA today.

How many permutations are there to think about when wondering who will advance from the group?

Too many.

Here's the short version from reporter Phil Collin:

None of the four teams in Group B has clinched a spot, and none have been eliminated. And how about this? Chivas can lose tomorrow and still advance. Don't ask.

Um, I won't.

Here's the long version from the SuperLiga Web site:
Group B Scenarios
Next Group Matches:
Chivas USA vs. NE Revolution
Santos vs. Pachuca CF (7 p.m. Pizza Hut Park - Frisco)

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (6 points, +2 goal differential)

• Revolution clinches 1st place with a win or tie.
• Revolution clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Pachuca loss or tie.
• Revolution clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Pachuca win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Revolution is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.

Note: If New England wins or draws its last group game, it would host every match it plays moving forward as neither Houston nor D.C. United could obtain 7 or 9 points. See note below on Semifinals.

PACHUCA (3 points, even goal differential)

• Pachuca clinches 1st place with a win AND a Chivas USA win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a win or tie AND a Chivas USA loss or tie.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF both teams lose by one-goal margin and identical score lines.
• Pachuca clinches 2nd place with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF both teams lose by a one-goal margin with Pachuca scoring more goals than Chivas USA.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA win or tie.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF Pachuca loses by two goals or more.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a loss AND a Chivas USA loss IF Chivas USA loses by more goals than Pachuca.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a tie AND a Chivas USA win.
• Pachuca is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.

CHIVAS USA (3 points, even goal differential)

• Chivas USA clinches 1st place with a win AND a Pachuca loss or tie.
• Chivas USA clinches 1st place with a win AND a Pachuca win IF Chivas USA wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Chivas USA clinches 2nd place with a win AND a Pachuca win IF Pachuca wins the group in a three-way tiebreaker.
• Chivas USA clinches 2nd place with a tie AND a Pachuca loss.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca win or tie.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a tie AND a Pachuca win or tie.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Santos win IF Santos wins by two or more goals.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF both results are identical and by a one-goal margin.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF both teams lose are by a one-goal margin with Pachuca scoring more goals than Chivas USA.
• Chivas USA is eliminated with a loss AND a Pachuca loss IF Chivas USA loses by more goals than Pachuca.

SANTOS (0 points, -2 goal differential)

• Santos clinches 2nd place with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF Santos wins by two or more goals.
• Santos clinch 2nd place with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF Chivas USA finishes with the worst goal differential in three-way tie.
• Santos is eliminated with a loss or tie.
• Santos is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA tie or win.
• Santos is eliminated with a win AND a Chivas USA loss IF both results are by one-goal margins.

Jonathan Bornstein will play today, as Phil observes:

Jonathan Bornstein showed up as suspended for yellow card accumulation on some press release, but that was a mistake from the Chivas PR machine. Or, as Bornstein put it: "How can I be suspended when I didn't even get a yellow in the second game?" He's right, although the scoring summary on mlsnet.com lists Bornstein as being booked in the 88th minute vs. Santos. That card actually went to Bobby Burling. Bornstein did pick up a card against Pachuca.

The final score: 2-2 (with the Galaxy just snatching the equalizer).

Game story.

The aftermath from a New Yawk perspective.

Donovan's goal.

Galaxy beat writer Scott Wolf gave a few tidbits of today's story in blog posts Friday and here we learn just how happy Coach Ruud Gullit is to punt Abel Xavier. So are we, Ruud, so are we.

A massive crowd is expected in New York for David Beckham, sorry, today's game (3:30 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel). Wonder how many of them will care about how he is deployed?

Oh, and you're aware Becks just loves L.A., right?.

Rumor of the Day: Has the Galaxy signed Newcastle United's former stylish midfielder Nolberto Solano? (Link swiped from the LA Riot Squad Web site).

In other soccer news:
*LAFC lost at Home Depot Center Friday night (and live on national TV) 4-2 to the Baltimore Bays in the final of the Under-17/18 U.S. Soccer Federation Development Academy.

*A reminder there are two SuperLiga games today on Telefutra: at 5 p.m. Houston plays D.C. United, while CD Guadalajara-Atlante follows at 7 p.m.

Just answer this trivia question: Which Chivas USA player is nicknamed Sueno?

The first three e-mails I receive with the correct answer wins a pair of tickets courtesy of the Daily Breeze to the crucial Chivas USA-New England Revolution SuperLiga game on Sunday at Titan Stadium in Fullerton.

I will notify the three winners via e-mail how they can claim their prize.

To get caught up on SuperLiga, click here.

I'll post the winners here.

Updated: 11:08 a.m. Saturday
We have three winners:
Far Farshad, Pacific Palisades
Laura Camp, San Juan Capistrano
Diana Torralvo, Playa del Rey

Diana provided the correct answer in a comment, BTW, so look below for the answer.

For those of you visiting the blog for the first time, look around and kick the tires.

I'll have a preview of today's Galaxy-Red Bulls game up shortly. And I'll be blogging from the Chivas USA SuperLiga game Sunday as well, so even if you didn't win tickets you can check back in for updates.

Thanks for visiting.

I couldn't resist these items collected in the last week or so. All strange. All true.

For instance, you'll be relieved to know South Africa's tourism authorities are looking out for the fans when they indicated earlier this week they wanted to legalize prostitution during the 2010 World Cup.

In truth, the next item is more sad than funny, but it still falls under the category: "And you thought MLS refs were bad."

Finally, here's a story brave enough to ask the question: What do you do when a moose interrupts a soccer game?

Be careful out there this weekend.

Galaxy central defender Abel Xavier did not mince words on the club that waived him today:

``There's a shift-the-wind philosophy (here). Many players feel the same way but because they are not secure in their contract, they are afraid to say what they think.''

Sounds like the New England Revolution had a strange flight to Southern California today for Sunday's SuperLiga game against Chivas USA:

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped, put his clothes back on and then tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a pro soccer team and others, the FBI said.

American Flight 725, a Boeing 757 with 151 passengers and seven crew on board, arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:35 p.m. CDT and was back in the air an hour later on the way to Los Angeles, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines.

The passenger was removed from the plane in Oklahoma City and was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.

Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, Johnson said.

Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released, he said.

Stacey James, a spokesman for the New England Patriots, which shares a common owner with the Revolution, said three Revolution staff members helped restrain the unruly passenger: former U.S. international Mike Burns, vice president of player personnel; assistant coach Gwynne Williams; and general manager Craig Tornberg.

According to Johnson, the passenger emerged from a bathroom without his clothes on.

"He was asked to go back to the bathroom to put his clothes on and he did and went back to his seat and then allegedly attempted to open an aircraft emergency exit door," Johnson said.

"Members of the Major League Soccer team, the New England Revolution, were on the flight. They were able to subdue him," he said.

The New England Revolution plays Chivas USA at Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.

The Galaxy waived defender Abel Xavier today, which is not surprising since he and Coach Ruud Gullit had a poor relationship.

``We don't have any kind of relationship, unfortunately,'' Xavier said. ``I don't accept any coach who thinks I pretend to be injured.''

Gullit questioned whether Xavier was actually injured last week when he sat out the game against Chivas USA.

Updated: By the way, Xavier being waived means Argentine Eduardo Dominguez, 29, was placed on the active roster and is likely to play Saturday against the Red Bulls.

The Galaxy released some Xavier stats:

Xavier joined the Galaxy in June 2007 and appeared in 20 games during his 13 months with the club, including 10 matches this season. He started 19 of the 20 matches in which he appeared, playing 1,754 minutes while collecting two assists, five yellow cards and one red.

No word on just how many goals he was guilty of allowing the Galaxy to concede over that time though.
-Nick Green

Another soccer-filled weekend is on tap, so let's get to it.

*The Galaxy are out of town in New York where Claudio Reyna retired this week and the Red Bulls signed two South American midfielders who could make their debuts Saturday.

The game airs live at 3:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel and a crowd of more than 45,000 is expected to turn out largely to see David Beckham who continues to prove why he's nicknamed Golden Balls.

Need a reminder why so many people want to see the game? Check out the highlights from last year.

*Meanwhile, they're expecting a similarly large boost in attendance in Kansas City on Sept. 13 when Becks and the Galaxy visit so the Wizards announced Thursday they are moving the game from the 10,000-capacity CommunityAmerica Ballpark to vast Arrowhead Stadium.

*Chivas USA are at home at 5 p.m. Sunday playing at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium in the third and final SuperLiga game (live on Telefutura) where three teams in Group B could finish tied with six points by the end of the weekend.

How complicated is the picture for qualification for the next round? Here it is broken down from a New England perspective courtesy of the Revolution, but it also tells you what Chivas USA need to do:

A win or a draw on Sunday would assure the Revolution first place in the group, while a Pachuca loss to Santos Laguna in the group's other game would also secure New England's passage to the next round. Even if the Revs lose to Chivas USA and Pachuca defeats Santos, the possibility still exists that the Revolution could advance to the competition's final four, because in that case, New England, Chivas USA and Pachuca would all be tied atop the group with six points. If that happens, the group would be decided on goal difference, and the Revs (+2) currently have a better goal difference than both Chivas USA (0) and Pachuca (0).

*Meanwhile, Chivas USA defender/midfielder/forward Jonathan Bornstein of Los Alamitos was named as a replacement for Olympics-bound players in the MLS All-Star Game even though he's missed plenty of games this season and has not quite found the form he did last year (yet).

Plenty of other players are more deserving of course, such as D.C. United's Luciano Emilio (third in the league in scoring) or the Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto (the MLS assist-leader who had another two plus a goal Thursday in Columbus' 3-3 draw with Kansas City). Yet another reason to question the game's credibility.

*Also, Chivas USA has had Amber Hernandez, a 15-year-old member of the South Valley Chivas Academy in Porterville called up to the Mexican Under-17 National Team for the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship that began Thursday in Trinidad & Tobago.

*In other youth soccer news, the Los Angeles FC Under-18 boys team (led by U-17/18 Coach of the Year Rafa Moran) plays for the U.S. Development Academy championship at Home Depot Center live at 8 on ESPN2 tonight. Full details here.

*Over in the PDL, the San Fernando Valley Earthquakes are still in with a chance of making the playoffs after defeating the Ventura County Fusion Thursday.

The Quakes need a win Sunday against the Fresno Fuego in a 7:05 p.m. game at Calabasas High to make the playoffs.

Here's why from the Quakes Web site:

The Fuego overwhelmed the Southern California Seahorses 5-2 Thursday to move into first place on 29 points; the San Francisco Seals, in second place, take on Bakersfield Brigade today, and will move to the top of the league on 30 points if they win. The Quakes now lie third, on 27 points, with Fusion in fourth, their playoff hopes virtually over.

*In the W-League tonight it's Pali Blues at Los Angeles Legends in a 6 p.m. game at Esperanza High.

*U.S. striker Abby Wambach had surgery Thursday on
her broken leg.

*Finally, at least one Mexican club apparently does not know what the new national team coach looks like (exactly).

And if you liked that, then return later today for some Friday Football Funnies, true and strange soccer stories from around the world in the last week or so.

Enjoy your weekend.

Plenty of Southern California representation on the Olympics roster announced today by Coach Peter Nowak.

Locals include soon-to-be-ex-Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Fontana's Maurice Edu (Toronto) and former Bruins Marvelle Wynne (Toronto), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo) and Benny Feilhaber (Derby County).

Notable omissions: the Galaxy's Landon Donovan (needed by the full national team for World Cup qualifying) and former Bruins Chad Barrett and Sal Zizzo (who is trying to establish himself with Hannover in Germany).

The complete squad:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake).

DEFENDERS (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).

MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio).

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew).

McBride sounds like he's going to enjoy the Olympics as one of three over-age players on the squad judging by his tale of how he got on the roster:

"It's actually a pretty funny story. We had just finished a game against West Ham and [Men's National Team player] Jonathan Spector was outside the locker room and [Olympic Team assistant coach] Lubos Kubik was there with him - they were just talking. I knew Lubos from when he played with the Fire and Jonathan and I are pretty good friends. So, we all just started talking and all of the sudden Jonathan said jokingly 'Lubos, did you hear Brian wants to play in the Olympics?' After a few more jokes I told Lubos that I would seriously consider it if he would. Then I threw it out as just talk at the time, but a few days later, Peter [Nowak] called me! I was a little shocked but that's really when it became an interest and a possibility. The idea has come a long way since then but it was pretty crazy at the time. I just feel terrible that Jonathan ended up getting injured, as I know that he really deserves to be there, too."

Reporter Phil Collin caught up to Kljestan after last night's SuperLiga game and asked how he felt about leaving Chivas USA in the middle of the tournament:

"It's tough. ... After (the SuperLiga game) Sunday I switch my focus to the Olympic team. That's something I've dreamed about for 22 years now. It's exciting, it's going to be crazy. I'd feel terrible if I have to leave this team going into the semifinal game, but that's the way international football is sometimes. Unlucky for us that this tournament falls right in the middle of summer and right when I have to leave for the Olympics. It's tough, but on the other hand I'm going to the Olympics.

And so is once and former teammate Guzan. Reading between the lines, he's going because Aston Villa projects him as a backup to Brad Friedel or ? and so is unconcerned the Olympics clash with the EPL season:

"We're all very happy for Brad. We know sooner or later he will be the first (choice) keeper - I'm not saying he's not going to be right now."

Here's Nowak on Rogers' inclusion:

"In the last couple of months Robbie Rogers started to play the game everybody loves to see him play," adding that he has "worked on stuff he didn't work on before."

Here's more from U.S. Soccer on the team's timetable:

The U.S. will begin their final preparation for the Beijing Olympics on Sunday with six days of domestic training in San Jose. The team will then depart for Hong Kong, where they will participate in the ING Cup, facing fellow Olympic participants Ivory Coast on July 30 and Cameroon on Aug. 2.

Notable:
*A dozen players on the Olympic roster have played for the full national team.
*Eleven players were on the Olympics qualifying roster.
*Players on the roster were drawn from eight different leagues around the world.

Also today: Striker Lauren Cheney (UCLA) will replace the injured Abby Wambach on the U.S. women's Olympic team, U.S. Soccer officials announced today. The 20-year-old has 12 caps and three goals for the U.S., including two this year.

David Beckham won the award for Best MLS Player at last night's ESPYS.

Reaction: For what?

Ante Razov's deciding goal.

Photo by Scott Varley

Before we get started, take a deep breathe and read this fine piece of journalism on Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan and his father.

I'll wait.

But then we figured Kljestan would be going to the Olympics, didn't we? The squad will officially be announced at 10 a.m. today (Thursday).

Other nuggets:
*Midfielder Paulo Nagamura, who suffered a mild concussion during the match, and defender Jonathan Bornstein will be suspended for Sunday's game against New England because of yellow-card accumulation (2 apiece).

*We were discussing in the press box about the tie-breakers in SuperLiga given the possibility Chivas USA, the Revolution and Pachuca could end up tied on six points at the end of the games Sunday.

Colleague Phil Collin kindly researched the issue (based on last year's rules):
1. points
2. head-head
3. point differential
4. goals scored
5. drawing of lots

Now here's the catch: if after the first four criteria, a team qualifies, that team advances. Then the process is repeated. For instance, if Pachuca wins 2-0 and Chivas USA wins 1-0, Pachuca advances on goal differential. Then you go back to the top and play the string out with the two remaining teams.

Got that?

Curiously though, Sunday's pair of games aren't played at the same time: the Revs and Chivas USA game is later than Pachuca-Santos Laguna. Not that I'm suggesting anything.

The game story is here.

And (for those of you who read until the end of the game story) it looks like yet another foreign veteran (Wicky) is a total bust in MLS, doesn't it?

On to the quotes:

*Preki on the economy of shots for Chivas USA:

"We got one shot on goal tonight - we scored. We're going to take that. We're not going to complain about that. Sometimes things don't go your way, you lose. Tonight, I thought the ball bounced our way. Sometimes in this game you have to be lucky. You've got to get a bounce."

*Ante Razov on the ball Kljestan served him that led to the goal:

"It was good work out on the wing with Sacha and we've developed pretty good chemistry as of late, especially. I just wanted to try to set my guy up and get to the near post, and fortunately I was able to get a piece of it, I also think the defender got a piece of it too. Great ball."

*Did Santos Laguna Coach Daniel Guzman think the 90th minute goal his team scored was offside?

"It was a goal. There was no-one offside on that play. That's when we started the whole debate with the referee, but it's over now."

On the loss:

"They had a goal-scoring opportunity. They put it in. Sometimes soccer is that way. You play well. You don't win. You play badly, you win."

*Preki on how the team came out:

"I didn't feel like we got a grip of the game in the first 10-15 minutes. I thought they were the better team, I thought they were moving the ball a bit better than us, I thought we were nervous, but I was expecting that given the fact that we've changed quite a few players from the other night to tonight."

Finally, here's the first half sitter Christian Benitez of Santos Laguna missed in the first half with Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and the net at his mercy.

Photo by Scott Varley

Abby Wambach, the top scorer for the U.S. Women's National Team broke her leg in the final game before the Olympics against Brazil Wednesday in San Diego, and will miss the games in China.

"Obviously, it's devastating, but above everything else, I'm only one player, and you can never win a championship with just one player," said Wambach, a resident of Hermosa Beach. "I have the utmost confidence in this team bringing home the gold."

Laudable comments from Wambach, but this is nothing short of a disaster for the U.S.

As the U.S. Soccer press release points out:

Wambach is the USA's leading scorer this year with 13 goals and 10 assists. She has led the team in scoring in the last three world championships and is one of the top scorers in U.S. history with 99 goals in 127 games.

In other words, Wambach is quite simply irreplaceable and the American gold medal hopes have been dealt a crushing, and potentially fatal, blow.

It's almost irrelevant, but the U.S. won the game 1-0.

Here are more details on what sounds like a particularly nasty injury and the game from the Associated Press.

A common theme for Chivas USA Coach Preki this season has been his grousing that his team doesn't capitalize on their chances.

Well, they did tonight, substitute Ante Razov scoring with an eight-yard header from a nice Sacha Kljestan cross in the 73rd minute for the only goal of the game.

It was the first shot Chivas USA had on target all night long. In fact it was the only shot Chivas USA had on target all night long. It was also Razov's fifth goal in five straight games.

Santos Laguna redoubled their attacks after that and Dan Kennedy came up big in the 83rd minute, denying Vicente Vuoso a goal with a diving save.

Santos actually had the ball in the net in the 89th minute, which was disallowed for offside (but not by the player who scored I believe, which is why Santos' players and fans were so irate).

Razov and Jesse Marsch had come on at half time for the impotent Roberto Nurse and Atiba Harris.

A win (or a tie if Pachuca fails to beat Santos Laguna Sunday) over New England will put Chivas USA through to the next round.

More from the zoo that is the mixed zone a little later.

Lots of shots on goal from the two teams (a dozen), but only three from Santos Laguna on target so the score is 0-0 after the opening 45 minutes.

The Mexican champions have looked fast and smooth when they transition into attack and gave some idea of their potency with a goal only 60 seconds or so into the game that was called back for offside.

Santos broke quickly in the 12th minute too, Christian Benitez geting behind the defense, rounding goalkeeper Dan Kennedy - and then hitting the bar instead of the open net from eight yards.

Chivas USA have looked considerably less dangerous, frankly.

Their most lively attack in the 23rd minute saw Sacha Kljestan intelligently spray the ball wide to Jonathan Bornstein. Debutante Roberto Nurse completely whiffed on his cross though and hasn't shown much else.

Quite a few Santos fans here tonight - lots more than Pachuca drew on the weekend - and they're often overwhelming the home fans in terms of noise.

New England beat Pachuca 1-0 in the early game, by the way, going through to the next round and doing Chivas USA a huge favor, who play the Revolution Sunday.

All sorts of changes tonight for Chivas USA including Dan Kennedy in goal, Claudio Suarez on the bench, Mexican Roberto Nurse making his debut up front and young Kraig Chiles getting a rare start (likely as a withdrawn forward).

The Chivas USA lineup: Kennedy, Jim Curtin, Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein, Francisco Mendoza, Sacha Kljestan, Paulo Nagamura, Chiles, Nurse and Atiba Harris.

Ante Razov is on the bench, as is Jesse Marsch and Jorge Flores.

Mexican international Oswaldo Sanchez is in goal for Santos Laguna and fellow El Tri international defender Fernando Arce starts in defense with Ecuador's World Cup 2006 striker Christian Benitez and former Manchester City forward Vicente Vuoso the players to watch up front.

Chivas USA plays the second game of its SuperLiga campaign at 7 tonight (live on Telefutua) at Home Depot Center in a must-win situation against Mexican champions Santos Laguna.

I'll blog from Carson as usual.

Pachuca plays New England at 5 p.m. on Telefutura.

Down the coast from us, the U.S. Women's National Team plays its final pre-Olympic tune-up at 7 p.m. in San Diego against Brazil (live on Fox Soccer Channel).

Lastly, the U.S. Women's Under-23 National Team won its Nordic Cup opener Tuesday 1-0 against Switzerland. The UCLA pair of Valerie Henderson and Tina DiMartino went the full 90 for the U.S.

Not wanting to repeat last year's lack of depth at forward that cost Chivas USA a half-decent playoff run, Preki has signed 24-year-old Mexican forward Roberto Nurse, who has played three (on and off) years in the Mexican first division.

And of course, Chivas USA has been a Mexican-oriented team with few Mexicans lately.

Chivas USA has the likes strikers Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian out injured.

From the (edited) Chivas USA press release:

"Roberto is a strong, powerful center forward who we've been taking a close look at for the past few weeks," Preki said. "He's good in the air, good with his feet, and will add another dimension to our attack."

Nurse made his top-flight debut with Cuernavaca in 2003 at age of 19. He also played for Zacatepec and Querétaro for two years and returned to the first division in 2005 playing 13 games with Atlante. Then it was back to just-promoted Querétaro the next year where he scored 17 goals between the Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 seasons.

Chivas USA play their second SuperLiga game against Mexican champion Santos Laguna Wednesday.

An Internet special has tickets on sale starting at just $10, with the highest-priced tickets (usually $45) $10 off. More info here.

SuperLiga scores tonight: Atlante 3 D.C. United 1

While it was Chivas 1 Houston Dynamo 0

But United isn't necessarily out.

Edson Buddle's exemplary form this season has earned him his first MLS All-Star Game call-up in his eight-year career.

Buddle, whose start to the season was disrupted by yet another in his litany of injuries, - a broken collar bone sustained on the Galaxy's Australian tour - overcame that to record 11 goals in his last seven games, tying him for the MLS scoring lead.

I'm at a loss for words," Buddle said. "It's good when you put in the work and you are rewarded for it."

Also named to the July 24 game against West Ham United by MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Coach Steve Nicol: the Canadian trio of Jim Brennan (Toronto FC), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo) and Pat Onstad (Houston Dynamo), as well as New York Red Bull striker Juan Pablo Angel and the Colorado Rapids duo of Christian Gomez and Pablo Mastroeni.

Meanwhile, in the least surprising news of the MLS season so far, Red Bulls injury prone midfielder Claudio Reyna is expected to announce his retirement Wednesday at a New York press conference.

Reyna has been a colossal bust for New York and their fans will unlikely be upset to see him go. The bigger question for Wednesday: can he hobble to the microphone?

It has been a pleasure watching Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan mature into a world-class goalkeeper during his MLS career.

And Edson Buddle has been a bright spot of the Galaxy's season, just can't seem to stop scoring goals and is enjoying every moment after a stuttering MLS career so far.

I focused on the two of them for today's column at a time when both are at a critical juncture of their careers.

Today:
Palos Verdes' John Thorrington was named MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters after his stoppage time winner against Toronto FC for the Chicago Fire.

Tuesday
As the MLS transfer window opens the Galaxy could announce who gets cut today to make room for new signing Eduardo Dominguez, the Argentine defender. Pete Vagenas? Abel Xavier? Or does he have a guranteed contract? Greg Vanney?

MLS All-Star coach Steve Nicol will announce his five All-Star picks while MLS Commissioner Don Garber will announce his two to complete the 18-player roster for the July 24 game against West Ham United.

Wednesday
Chivas USA plays the second SuperLiga group game against Mexican champions Santos Laguna at 7 p.m. live on Telefutura. The Mexicans lost 1-0 to the New England Revolution on the weekend, which plays Pachuca at 5 p.m.

On Tuesday it's D.C. United vs. Atlante in the early game followed by Houston Dynamo vs. CD Guadalajara.

Thursday
The 18-player U.S. Men's Olympic Team roster is announced.

Friday
The U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team plays the first game of World Cup qualifying against Costa Rica in Trinidad. Forward Samantha Johnson of Palmdale is on the roster.

Saturday
The 6-6-4 Galaxy, who haven't won in four games, plays at 3:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel against the 5-6-5 Red Bulls in a rematch of last year's 5-4 New York win before more than 66,000.

Notes:
Galaxy goalkeeper Vito Higgins is out four to six weeks after suffering a fracture of his right foot that was discovered before Friday's reserve game against Chivas USA.

Results Sunday:
PDL
Lancaster Rattlers 2 San Francisco Seals 3
Orange County Blue Star 1 Ventura County Fusion 0

Standings.

W-League
Real Colorado Cougars 2 Ventura County Fusion 0
Standings.

WPSL
Claremont Stars 1 Ajax America Women 4
SD United 4 Los Angeles Rampage 0

Standings.

Chivas USA forward Justin Braun underwent an MRI on his left knee and the results were negative. He bruised the knee near the end of Thursday's Galaxy game and did not dress for Sunday's game against Pachuca.

Chivas USA forward Maykel Galindo, who is out following sports hernia surgery, said he will return to action in two weeks.

Suarez' miss from the penalty spot.

Photo by Scott Varley

Game story.

Box score.

Here's Claudio Suarez on missing the first half penalty kick:

"I feel bad for having missed it because it influenced the result. If I'd put it in it would have changed the game."

Preki thought the "silly free kick" in the 23rd minute against Panchito Mendoza (it looked like a dangerous two-footed tackle on replays to me) that resulted in the tying goal was the "changing point" of the game:

"They are a very good team. You give a team like that a moment or two they're going to punish you."

Suarez clearly wasn't used to the speed a team like Pachuca can play at:

"The match was played at a high rate," he said. "I hadn't played Mexican soccer for a while. Pachuca can pass ball around."

Jonathan Bornstein, who switched positions with Panchito Mendoza and played left half much of the game rather than left back, said Pachuca's speed on counter attacks was a handful:

If you turn the ball over they were very quick to transition and get down the flanks. They had those two full backs who were kind of playing high all the time. It worked for them I thought the game opened up a lot."

Preki conceded his team looked a "step slower" after Thursday's game against the Galaxy and couldn't quite match the speed and polish of Pachuca's possession-oriented game:

They are a very good passing team. Against teams like that you have to be patient. It's different than MLS. Not too many teams in our league base everything on passing like this team does."

He also observed that goalkeeper Lance Parker was drafted in after Guzan backup Dan Kennedy sustained a "knock" in Friday's reserve team game against the Galaxy. Preki on Parker's first ever start as a pro: "pretty decent."

U.S. Coach Bob Bradley was at the game, by the way, as was Mexico's new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Sacha Kljestan: grounded.

Photo by Scott Varley

The second half was as tepid as the first half was smoking hot, Pachuca running out winners, 2-1.

An Ante Razov header from 12 yards that almost slipped in the corner of the net and required the fingertips of Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero to keep out was the offensive highlight five minutes into the half.

And that was about it.

From the hour mark on Pachuca essentially managed the game, keeping possession and wearing Chivas USA down. Pachuca's rearguard held (not that it was tested much) and with New England beating Santos Laguna 1-0 in the early game, Chivas USA find themselves in a tie at the basement of the group.

Back later with post-game reaction.

An event-filled opening 45 minutes saw Chivas USA blow a lead, squander a penalty kick and come in at the half trailing 2-1.

Chivas could and probably should have been up 2-0 in the first 10 minutes, with Sacha Klejstan hitting the bar from 16 yards, wasting a fine Jonathan Bornstein run, who split the Pachuca defense after intercepting a lazy clearance.

In the 10th minute Claudio Suarez hit the post from the penalty spot, after Pachuca defender Fausto Pinto had handled the ball in the area.

Chivas USA took the lead in the 16th minute when a poor Leobardo Lopez clearance only got as far as Klejstan, lurking in the penalty area. He quickly slipped the ball to Ante Razov who had a simple task in tapping it home.

Pachuca drew level from a free kick seven minutes later, a hard kick from Gerardo Rodriguez slamming off Bruno Marioni into the net.

Pachuca took the lead just before half time when a Rodriguez cross was headed in by Gabriel Caballero.

Chivas USA plays its first ever competitive international game tonight against SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions Cup title holders Pachuca.

So it's a hell of a time for goalkeeper Lance Parker (Missouri State) to make his professional debut. Parker is favored over presumed starter Dan Kennedy with Brad Guzan headed to England's Aston Villa.

The rest of the team is virtually the same as the starting XI Chivas USA fielded against the Galaxy Thursday with the exception of Claudio Suarez, who's contractually obligated to play in the competition. That's why he was held out of Thursday's Galaxy game, with Shavar Thomas deputizing.

The Chivas USA line-up: Parker, Bobby Burling, Suarez, Carey Talley, Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo nagamura, Panchito Mendoza, Ante Razov and Atiba Harris.

Jorge Flores is on the bench.

The Pachuca team:
GK Miguel Calero
D Leobardo Lopez
D Julio Manzur
D Bruno Marioni
D Fausto Pinto
M Damian Alvarez
M Paul Aguilar
M Jaime Correa
M Gerardo Rodriguez
M Gabriel Caballero
F Christian Gimenez

Brazilian Christian Correra is on the bench.

Manzur is a Paraguyan international who played in the 2006 World Cup.

Marioni, an attacking midfielder-striker, is the major new addition to Pachuca's squad; he's played for the likes of Spain's Villareal and Newell's Old Boys in Argentina.

Pinto, a speedy winger, is a Mexican international, while Argentine Alvarez has played for Italy's Reggina and River Plate in Argentina. Caballero is a naturalized Mexican citizen who played in the 2002 World Cup.

Gimenez, who oozes class, has played for Argentine power Boca Juniors and Club America.

The game is on Telefutura.

Amy Rodriguez, a senior at USC this fall, scored the lone goal of the game in the U.S. Women's National Team's victory over a depleted Brazil today in Colorado.

Chivas USA moves into a new era this evening without star goalkeeper Brad Guzan in their SuperLiga opener at 7 against Pachuca (live on TeleFutura).

Said Coach Preki of the culmination (hopefully) of the drawn out trade:

"I won't say it's a relief because now we've got to see what we have with the other young goalkeepers we have. It's going to be a challenge."

I'll blog from the game as usual.

Of course, Guzan still has to get a work permit and if you believe The People, an English tabloid, there could be other complications, as well. By the way, the copy editor who came up with that headline has way too much time on his hands.

Speaking of American goalkeepers in England, Guzan said he has employed the consulting services of Everton's Tim Howard:

"Timmy's been awesome about the entire process going back to January when things didn't work out. We've had some little discussions here and there, nothing too serious, but he's helped me in maturing into a good professional and hopefully I'll be able to continue the success of American goalkeepers."

Santos Laguna and the New England Revolution kick off their SuperLiga encounter at 5 p.m. on TeleFutura today, while CD Guadalajara turned out the D.C. United lights ( and Jaime Moreno actually missed a penalty kick) Saturday. The Houston Dynamo pounded Atlante, 4-0, in the other game.

In MLS games Saturday, Palos Verdes' John Thorrington scored a late winner for the Fire to break Chicago's five-game losing streak and Real Salt Lake answered the question: How bad is the Western Conference? Salt Lake sits in first place after beating Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew, 2-0.

The U.S. women will seek revenge against Brazil today for their World Cup loss in the first of two games between the nations before the Olympics. Kick off is at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach is one goal shy of her 100th international strike going into the game.

How significant is that?

As U.S. Soccer points out:

At 99 career goals in 125 games, Wambach's prolific scoring rate - the best goals-to-game ratio in U.S. history in fact - puts her just one away from joining four other U.S. players in the 100 Goal Club. Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (129), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100) are four of eight players in the history of women's soccer to score 100 or more international goals. Wambach scored her first-ever goal in 2002 against Finland and since then has averaged a goal every 90 minutes she has played for the WNT.

Wambach sounds, well, amazed by the feat, too:

"I've been thinking about it, because I knew everyone would be asking me about it. I think it's amazing the impact that it's had on myself and maybe my team. I've seen a lot of countries and met a lot of people and I think about the amount of joy every single goal has brought not only to my life but also my teammates lives. I also just think about the company I'm in. I'm getting compared to Michelle Akers. I sort of don't want to even be compared to her because it's a bit surreal. She's just up there in my book in terms of how dominant she was."

In the PDL Saturday it was:
Los Angeles Legends 0 San Francisco Seals 2
San Fernando Valley Quakes 4 Fresno Fuego 1
Bakersfield Brigade 1 Orange County Blue Star 3
San Jose Frogs 1 Southern California Seahorses 3

Today there's a doubleheader at Buena High in Ventura for the last home game of the Fusion season, with the W-League Ventura County Fusion kicking off at 4 p.m against the Real Colorado Cougars, while their male counterparts in the PDL play at 6 p.m. against Orange County Blue Star.

In WPSL games today:
Claremont Stars v Ajax America Women at 5:30 p.m. at Claremont High
SD United v Los Angeles Rampage at 4 p.m. at Valhalla High

In the WPSL Saturday:
San Diego WFC SeaLions 1 Claremont Stars 0
West Coast FC 2 SD United 1

Veteran Chivas USA and Mexican international defender Claudio Suarez considers himself a "simple soccer player" who initially was dead set against writing his autobiography.

But the classy Suarez, respected for his modest demeanor off the field and his commanding defensive presence on it, succumbed and the result is "Claudio Suarez: Portrait of a Warrior."

"I really didn't want to do this book," he said. "This is a book about retirement already. Time passes by and we need to know when to say goodbye to futbol."

(Suarez, 39, is likely playing his final season, but has left open the slim possibility he may return).

The book was launched at a press conference Saturday at Home Depot Center with Suarez' wife, Irma, and their three children looking on and the likes of former teammate Ramon Ramirez and Chivas USA co-owner Antonio Cue paying tribute to "the Emperor."

"He's an ambassador for Mexico in all aspects," said Cue. "This book is a reflection of many years of hard work."

"He's an example to everyone," said Ramirez. "When Claudio was in the defense we felt safe. ... He's a great leader in everything he does in life."

And in fact that was Suarez' motivation for writing the book. He hopes others will draw inspiration from his journey from modest roots to a distinguished career that has seen him make more appearances for Mexico than any other player.

"It's an incredible feeling," he said of boiling down his life to 145 pages. "I feel emotional, nervous because I don't know how well the book is going to do."

Curiously, few Mexican soccer stars write their autobiographies. He hopes his example will prod the likes of Luis Hernandez or Ramon Ramirez to tell their own stories.

The paperback, large-size book is peppered with photographs he has provided (you want to see Suarez' 1996 Olympic credential? It's here), which makes for easy reading.

But don't expect Suarez to rip former coaches or opposing players; this is intended to be an inspirational retelling of his long career.

Co-author Enrique Leon Candiani - a journalist for Mexican television and a Guadalajara newspaper who has followed Suarez' entire career - said it required patience awaiting the shy Suarez to open up.

"I had to go through a process so I could gain Claudio's confidence and trust - it took months," he said. "My impression is that Claudio hadn't discovered the importance of his image, his legacy and that is what I wanted to find out."

The book officially goes on sale Sunday at the Chivas USA-Pachuca SuperLiga game at Home Depot Center concession stands and the Team LA store. The first 500 people to purchase the book at the game get into an autograph session afterward.

At the moment it's only available in Spanish. An English-language version is in the works and will be released in about two months. I have an early copy though (even Claudio hadn't seen one) so look for a review in the coming days.

The book is also available on-line here.

The second edition of SuperLiga begins today with a 5 p.m. game on TeleFutura between CD Guadalajara and D.C. United.

The Houston Dynamo-Atlante game follows at 7 p.m. on the same channel.

The MLS Players Union is apparently not pleased with that alleged $1 million in SuperLiga prize money figure the league throws around.

Which might explain statements like this from New England's Matt Reis: "We're somewhat looking forward to the upcoming games."

Still, Pachuca midfielder Gabriel Caballero (left) and Chivas USA midfielder Paulo Nagamura look pretty happy with the cash though.

Pachuca and Chivas USA - likely without goalkeeper Brad Guzan - play Sunday at Home Depot Center.

In USL games locally, the W-League Pali Blues, having already clinched the Western Conference, pounded Real Colorado 6-0 Thursday.

The Los Angeles Legends play Real Colorado today at 5 p.m. in Chino Hills. Admission is free.

In the PDL Friday, the San Fernando Valley Quakes beat the Legends' male counterparts
3-1.

In other PDL games Friday it was:
San Jose Frogs 0 Orange County Blue Star 1
Ventura County Fusion 4 Lancaster Rattlers 0

Today's local games:
Bakersfield Brigade at Orange County Blue Star 5 p.m. Concordia University.
San Jose Frogs at Southern California Seahorses 7 p.m. La Mirada High.

Lastly, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy finals began today at Home Depot Center. Details and a game schedule is here.

Briefly:

*As expected, Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan seems finally on his way to Aston Villa.

*The mighty Galaxy reserves got their first victory today of the season, beating Chivas USA 5-3 on a brace apiece from Carlos Ruiz and Alan Gordon, while young Izzy Sesay got the final goal. The Galaxy moved to 1-3-1 on the season.

*The U.S. Under-20 National Team (without injured Chivas USA sueno Jorge Flores) beat Mexico 3-0 tonight in Texas, with UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk and midfielder Eder Arreola getting starts.

*Samantha Johnson of Palmdale made the 20-player roster for the U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team that will compete beginning Thursday in qualifying for the inaugural U-17 World Cup set for later this year in New Zealand.

Chivas USA coach Preki said today he hopes to have midfielder Sacha Kljestan for the entire first round of SuperLiga play, which means all three matches through July 20.

Chivas coach Preki said goalkeeper Brad Guzan is engaged in talks with European teams but he does not know if Guzan will sign with another club.
He also said he threw his hand in the air toward the linesman during Thursday night's game against the Galaxy, which resulted in his sending off.
``I never said a word,'' Preki said.
Regarding the lack of depth entering SuperLiga play, Preki said, ``That's a concern. We only have a small squad. We're pretty concerned how we manage the game, who gets how many minutes and the formations we play.
``At the end of the day, we don't want it to be an excuse.''

Here's some quotes from Pachuca ahead of Sunday's SuperLiga match with Chivas USA.

``What you're going to see here is a team taking the tournament very seriously,'' Pachuca coach Enrique Meza said. ``The test comes on Sunday. We'll see how it comes together.''

Pachuca midfielder Gabriel Caballero: ``We see that the MLS year after year is better and better. More games are being broadcast and we're able to see the level of competition. Chivas is obviously in the middle of their season but our team is in very good shape.''

Galaxy striker Landon Donovan admitted last night was one of his worst performances of the season.

``I had a bad night,'' he said. ``I couldn't get myself going and they did a good job putting a lot of guys around me.''`

Photo by Sean Hiller

David Beckham tries an unsuccessful free kick.

Post-Game Quotes:
Chivas USA Coach Preki on the reason he was given for getting sent off: "Absolutely none."

A press box colleague later observed a Chivas assistant coach told him Preki was sent off for giving a dismissive gesture related to what he thought was an erroneous offside call against Justin Braun just before Chivas USA conceded the equalizer. Oh.

I thought Sacha Kljesten was the player of the game. Preki is tougher to impress apparently:

"Sacha was OK. He started the game pretty good. He played disciplined. I thought he could have done even more and be more dangerous towards the goal."

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit said changes are in the works:

"We are not where we want to be. But we are working very hard on it. We try to buy some players also for this team so we can add a little bit of football."

On the contributions of Edson Buddle:

"What I like about Edson is he's an example also. His work rate is unbelievable. He works hard chasing people, holding the ball, sharp and scoring goals. I think we are all very proud of him. And I think he's ready to be selected by the national team."

On the flow of the game:

"It was a crazy game. For coaches a terrible game. ... The game went up and down and it's not supposed to do that."

On the alleged injuries to Abel Xavier (inflammation), Alvaro Pires, Sean Franklin (he really was injured) and Joe Franchino (thigh):

"All of a sudden I had people getting injured so therefore we had to improvise. ... Maybe we have to go to Lourdes because suddenly everybody was falling like flies."

On the loss of Cal State Northridge product Sean Franklin: "That was a huge loss for us because I think he's been our best defender on the season."

On the return of Pete Vagenas:

"We needed to have a little bit of football with someone who can hold the ball."

David Beckham on why he makes erratic challenges on players (as he did on Atiba Harris in the first half) that could expose him to injury and whether coaches have ever told him that's not his role:

"Coaches have probably given up with telling me not to make those kinds of challenges. ... That red mist has been there throughout my career and it will be till I stop playing because I hate losing. It's as simple as that. It's not a malicious thing against any player. I never want to go into a challenge and hurt any player. It's because I want to win the ball."

Chivas USA Coach Preki on why Claudio Suarez didn't play:

"It was a mutual agreement we play Claudio Sunday (in SuperLiga) because there is no way he can play tonight and Sunday. At this stage of his life and career we don't want to kill him. We want to protect him as much as we can."

Game story.

Game notes.

The game, played in front of a noisy, involved crowd, ended 1-1, a fair result on the night.

The Galaxy equalized after 72 minutes, Edson Buddle latching onto a Pete Vagenas through ball and scoring from an acute angle from about seven yards out for his 11th goal in nine games.

Somehow Chivas USA Coach Preki managed to get himself sent off in the aftermath, apparently for something he said to one of the officials.

Both Chivas USA and the Galaxy came close to finding the winner as the final whistle drew near.

First, a long Jonathan Bornstein pass found Sacha Kljestan lurking at the far post in the 88th minute, but his header connected with the woodwork.

A long Landon Donovan run from inside the Galaxy's own half in stoppage time ended with a pass to substitute Carlos Ruiz, who had only the goalkeeper to beat, but was foiled by Brad Guzan, who may have played his final game for Chivas USA.

He told ESPN2 after the game that "some talks are going on right now" and although he didn't mention Aston Villa specifically he came close to joining the EPL team last summer.

The difference in this game is again the easily flustered Galaxy defense, who froze as Sacha Kljestan, proving why he was a deserving pick in today's announced MLS All-Star XI, ran menacingly at them to lay the ball back to Ante Razov, who sent an assured, perfectly-placed strike out of the reach of Cronin for the 113th goal of his career.

Of course, Kljestan ran through the Galaxy midfield as well, almost single handedly creating the goal.

Chivas USA had the upper hand early on, but the Galaxy slowly clawed their way back into the game, the half finishing with Chris Klein lashing a vicious shot off the post that had Brad Guzan beaten.

In between, Panchito Mendoza cleared a Troy Roberts header off the line, while Ely Allen should have done better than just firing the ball straight at Guzan, when a lovely David Beckham dummy of a direct Chris Klein through ball deserved better.

The worst moment of the first half came when Ante Jazic went down with what looked a serious injury while battling for the ball with Atiba Harris. The early diagnosis was back spasms, but he was stretchered off and it looked much worse than that.

Jazic, a Canadian international, was starting just his fourth game after a long lay-off with an ankle injury.

Five changes for the Galaxy this evening after last week's loss to New England and no wins in the last three games.

Most fans will undoubtedly be pleased to know that even with an ankle injury to central defender Sean Franklin that was announced Wednesday the hapless Abel Xavier is nowhere to be seen.

Not even on the bench. And with the signing of Argentine Eduardo Dominguez perhaps we've seen the last of him. Ever. One can hope.

Steve Cronin is in goal as usual, with Chris Klein and Ante Jazic flanking the new (and probably temporary) central defensive pairing of Troy Roberts and Greg Vanney.

In midfield Alvaro Pires and Joe Franchino are both benched, so in come rookie Ely Allen and veteran Pete Vagenas, making only his third start of the season.

Up front it's Landon Donovan (hopefully largely recovered from his lengthy bout with the flu) returning in place of Alan Gordon alongside Edson Buddle.

Chivas, undefeated in the last three games, makes far fewer changes - just one in fact.

Veteran Mexican defender Claudio Suarez is dropped in central defense for Shavar Thomas.

That means Carey Talley, Bobby Burling and Jonathan Bornstein, along with Thomas, provide the defensive protection for goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Atiba Harris, who played just behind striker Ante Razov against the Earthquakes, moves to right midfield, with first time MLS all-star Sacha Kljesten taking that slot.

The other midfielders are Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura as usual, with Razov up top.

So it's a 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 for Chivas USA, take your pick.

Updated: Xavier is apparently out with left knee inflammation. And I thought it was just Galaxy fans who were inflamed with his performances of late.

Galaxy striker Landon Donovan did not seem to think Chivas would score too many goals in tonight's match at Home Depot Center.
``They don't present too many challenges for us defensively,'' he said.

The Galaxy and Chivas USA lead the Western Conference with identical 6-6-3 records and will square off at 8 tonight live on ESPN2 at Home Depot Center to determine the sole leader.

For Chivas USA it's the first in a run of four games in 11 days as they embark on their SuperLiga campaign, while the Galaxy don't play again until July 19 against the Red Bulls in New York.

In truth, neither Chivas USA or the Galaxy have been particularly impressive of late as reporter Phil Collin observes in his game preview.

Scott Wolf does his best to stoke the rivalry here.

Fans who can't get enough of the rivalry can check out the Galaxy-Chivas USA reserve game slated for 10 a.m. Friday on University Field #1.

Given the standings though, it doesn't appear to be much of a contest.

Meanwhile, MLS just announced that the Galaxy's David Beckham and Landon Donovan as well as Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan were named to the first XI for the July 24 All-Star Game against West Ham United. The Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers, who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was also voted in as were former Bruins Matt Reis, Jimmy Conrad and Frankie Hejduk. It's the first All-Star appearances for Kljestan and Rogers.

GK - Matt Reis, New England Revolution
D - Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards
D - Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew
D - Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution
MF - David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
MF - Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Chicago Fire
MF - Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution
MF - Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USA
MF - Robbie Rogers, Columbus Crew
F - Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas
F - Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy

Just in time for today's announcement, the Fire's resident bad boy Senor Blanco is in hot water for his conduct after Chicago's 2-1 loss to D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup the other night that apparently included eye-gouging and head-butting. Classy. (And MLS has taken down the video citing copyright infringement. Hmmm).

The MLS All-Star Game XI (and actually another seven to round out the roster) will be picked at 8 a.m. Thursday from Toronto, site of the 4 p.m. July 24 game against East London's West Ham United of the English Premier League.

Coaches and general managers, fans, players, and media each had 25 percent of the vote to select the starting line-up.

New England Revolution and All-Star Coach Steve Nicol gets another five picks and Commissioner Don Garber two.

The announcement is live on mlsnet.com.

Here are the fans' votes for the team:
goalkeeper Greg Sutton (Toronto FC); defenders Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), and Jim Brennan (Toronto FC); midfielders David Beckham (Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Amado Guevara (Toronto FC) and Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew); forwards Landon Donovan (Galaxy) and Danny Dichio (Toronto FC).

A bit of ballot stuffing going on there among Toronto fans? Hey, they're entitled.

Here are my selections: goalkeeper Matt Reis (New England Revolution); defenders Marvelle Wynne (Toronto FC); Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution) and Claudio Suarez (Chivas USA); midfielders David Beckham (Galaxy), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution) and Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA); forwards Landon Donovan (Galaxy) and Luciano Emilio (D.C. United).

Somewhat annoying limitations on voting: clubs were required to nominate their players for the game at the season's outset. So no vote was possible for an Edson Buddle, for instance. Hopefully Nichol or Garber will pick him.

Yes, the Suarez vote is in recognition for his service to the league during his career (hey, the Oscars do it, why not me?).

Noted: MLS Wednesday officially allocated the 2009 All-Star Game to Salt Lake City. Is that close enough for a road trip with these gas prices?

Galaxy defender Sean Franklin will be out 2-3 weeks with a sprained right medial-collateral ligament.

UCLA goalkeeper Valerie Henderson and midfielder Tina DiMartino were named today to the U.S. Under-23 Women's National Team roster for the eight-team Nordic Cup scheduled for July 15-21 in Sweden.

DiMartino has five appearances and two goals for the U-23 team and has also played on the full national team; Henderson has made 10 appearances with the U-23 team.

"With the new pro league on the horizon, and the next Women's World Cup three years away, this tournament is extremely valuable for these players," said Coach Bill irwin, whose team will defend the Nordic Cup title it won last year. "Some of them have seen time with the national team, but haven't quite broken in. This is their chance to show that they can perform in a difficult tournament competition."

Complete tournament details and roster.

Long Beach State became the latest school to release its fall schedule today.

The Big West champion, which returns all but one starter from last year's team, will play a 20-game schedule beginning Aug. 22. The complete schedule is here.

The Galaxy's new Argentine defender, Eduardo Dominguez, was at the Home Depot Center on Wednesday. He is not expected to be available until next week's game at New York because of paperwork issues.

``This is an experience that will help my game,'' Dominguez said. ``I think I will grow and I decided to do it because I need a good challenge and I wanted to come to a big city like Los Angeles.''

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said his hamstring is ``still a little bit tight,'' but that it should not be a problem for the Chivas USA game.

Meanwhile, striker Landon Donovan said he remains a little bothered by the flu.

``I thought I was over it but it's taken a dip the last couple of days,'' Donovan said. ``I'll get through tomorrow.''

Scott Wolf looks at the adjustments overseas players have to make in MLS from the perspective of the Galaxy's foreign contingent.

Dunno about you, but Abel Xavier's criticism of the tactical awareness of U.S. players might hold more water if he could still, y'know, play defense.

In a related story the L.A. Business Journal tallies the Beckham numbers.

Finally, columnist Kevin Modesti lists the 40 biggest sporting events from a Southern California perspective.

He concedes there's room for argument, so let's start a few.

The MLS Cup is ranked lower (No. 40) than the WNBA finals (No. 39)?

The Champions League and European Championships (No. 37) are ranked lower than mixed martial arts bouts (No. 33)?

And the World Cup (No. 29) is ranked lower than the Little League World Series (No. 25)? Are you kidding me? The buzz generated locally by the World Cup in 2006 in a nation of immigrants was lower than little kids playing what is essentially cricket on steroids?

What do you think?

A few quick items to finish the day:

*Red Bull New York has sold more than 40,000 tickets for its July 19th game against the Galaxy. Last year you'll recall New York prevailed 5-4 on a Juan Pablo Angel goal two minutes from the end of regulation despite a dominating performance by David Beckham that included two assists before a crowd of more than 66,000.

*The new Women's Professional Soccer (you wondered what WPS was in the headline, right?) league meets the week of Sept. 15 to allocate players from the national team pool to its seven teams. A draft of top international players follows a week later.

U.S. players have given their preference of city to play in, while teams will submit wish lists of players.

Another draft for domestic and international players is scheduled for October, combines on each coast are set for December, with another draft to follow that and then local tryouts.

Clubs will play in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles (presumably at Home Depot Center or perhaps the Track & Field stadium), New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.

The season begins in the first week of April.

*Lastly, a recent survey shows that of the three out of four Americans who have a favorite sport they listen to on the radio, soccer is tops for 11 percent. That's behind football (50 percent), baseball (25 percent) and just behind basketball (15 percent), but ahead of motor racing or hockey.

Not surprisingly, soccer was the top choice for 66 percent of Latinos as well as 20 percent of listeners of all races under age 35.

The survey was based on a sample of 1,000 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

The Galaxy announced the worst-kept secret around today when it agreed to terms with Argentine defender Eduardo Dominguez. He can play central defense or left back.

Dominguez spent one season with Huracán of the Argentine Primera Division. He joins the Galaxy roster upon the receipt of his P1 visa and International Transfer Clearance (ITC).

Updated: The 29-year-old also played 85 games for Velez Sarsfield from 1996-2002, Olimpo, Racing Club, Independiente and Columbia's Medellin.

The Galaxy press release also ominiously notes the team must "clear a senior roster spot in order to officially add Dominguez to the roster."

Farewell Abel Xavier? Or Greg Vanney? Or - who would you dump?

-Nick Green

Chivas USA midfielder Jorge Flores is not expected to play against the Galaxy on Thursday after he suffered a sprained right ankle during training on Monday.

Updated: Flores' injury means he also misses the U.S. Under-20 National Team game in Texas Friday against Mexico. The Anaheim native and reality TV show winner has three goals in six games for Chivas USA this season. - Nick Green

I was skeptical when SuperLiga was first announced last year.

Did we really need yet another tournament clogging up the schedule?

Well, the quality of the soccer won me over last year, especially after it became clear the Mexican teams involved were motivated and not just here on vacation.

So mark your calendars and check out the tournament preview.

A complete schedule is here (although curiously much of the rest of the Web site hasn't been updated).

Video highlights of last year's tournament (including Chris Klein's great bicycle kick) and a look at this year's participants are in this promo clip.

And a tip of the hat to those readers who e-mailed to point out it's SANTOS Laguna, not the name I used in the column.

I knew that. I just didn't write it!

Tied for first place in the Western Conference, the Galaxy and Chivas USA resume hostilities 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2 before the Red & White play Sunday in their opening SuperLiga game against last year's winner Pachuca. (That game is live at 7 p.m. on TeleFutura). I'll have a preview of the tournament in Tuesday's column.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan talks about the derby at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.com.

On Friday the two teams' reserve squads face off at 10 a.m. on University Field #1. The Galaxy reserves are currently winless so far this season.

On Saturday at Home Depot Center, 16 elite teams aged 15-18 will begin competing in the 2008 Development Academy Finals. The final eight round-robin games will be aired on ESPNU and ESPN2 July 18-19.

LAFC is the local representative in the Under 15/16 and Under-17/18 divisions.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Under-20 Galaxy Rios host Lancaster and Riverside respectively, the bottom two teams in the league, at Home Depot Center (both games kick-off at 5 p.m. on Field #5). With two wins the Rios (which currently sit third in the standings) could win the league, depending on the results of other games.

The Rios beat the Bakersfield Brigade over the weekend to move to 4-2-1.

And catching up on the rest of the weekend:
*The Galaxy made the New England Revolution's Adam Cristman look good: he was named MLS Player of the Week Monday by the North American Soccer Reporters after his two-goal effort led his team to a 2-1 victory over the Galaxy.

*In the W-League Sunday, the Seattle Sounders beat the Los Angeles Legends 4-2, although the first-year Pali Blues wrapped up the Western Conference title earlier in the weekend.

*In the PDL Sunday, it was the Southern California Seahorses 2 Los Angeles Legends 2 and Lancaster Rattlers 1 San Jose Frogs 4.

Standings.

*Scores in the WPSL Saturday:
Ajax America Women 4 Sonoma County FC Sol 0
Los Angeles Rampage 0 California Storm 0
West Coast FC 5 FC Sacramento Pride 0
Claremont Stars 3 Walnut Creek Power 3

*And Sunday:
Ajax America Women 3 California Storm 2
Los Angeles Rampage 10 FC Sacramento Pride 0
West Coast FC 8 Walnut Creek Power 0
Claremont Stars 1 Sonoma County FC Sol 2

Standings.

The U.S. Women's National Team beat Sweden 1-0 Saturday with Torrance's Shannon Boxx going the full 90 and USC striker Amy Rodriguez getting a few minutes late. The U.S. now returns home for its final two Olympic warm-up games.

If you want to get caught up on the Chivas USA win Saturday read the previous post; for game reaction and video highlights of the Galaxy's 2-1 loss to New England Friday go here.

In the PDL Saturday it was: Ventura County Fusion 2 Southern California Seahorses 0.

In the W-League Saturday, the expansion Pali Blues clinched the league title with a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.

Standings.

Since I spent most of the time in the locker room interviewing Claudio Suarez and Panchito Mendoza - the team's two Mexicans - about next Sunday's SuperLiga opener against Pachuca for Tuesday's column, my opportunities to get quotes about tonight's game were limited.

Still, there weren't many talking points anyway.

Chivas USA were fortunate to get a 1-0 win from an 88th minute Ante Razov free kick against the San Jose Earthquakes, the league's worst team. But so tight is the Western Conference, with the top six teams separated by just three points, that Chivas USA has zoomed from sixth to first.

Here's Chivas USA Coach Preki on goalscorer Ante Razov's performance:

"I thought tonight was his best performance (of the season). He looked calmer on the ball."

"It hits (Chivas USA defender Paulo) Nagamura in the shoulder, it changes direction and it hits the post. We were a little bit lucky."

On the possibility of bolstering the strike force given the injuries to Maykel Galindo and Alecko Eskandarian and the limited options in reserve:

"There's always talks. Right now they're just talks. ... Hopefully in a couple of weeks time we'll have (Galindo, etc) back so we'll see what happens in the meantime."

He certainly didn't rule out a trade did he? Carlos Ruiz perhaps? We'll see.

Game story here.

Check out the game action.

By the way, Pachuca played a friendly Saturday against Toronto. Read about it here.

Ante Razov finally broke open a game that appeared heading for a scoreless draw when he scored from a direct free kick from 28 yards out two minutes from the end of regulation time with a lovely left foot blast that gave Joe Cannon no chance.

What a relief.

And considering the Earthquakes' attacking options off the bench included former Chivas USA reserve striker John Cunliffe and Chivas' forwards included former Sunday rec league player Justin Braun, this was a game that appeared headed for a scoreless draw.

Oh, Ante Razov grazed the bar with a header. Sacha Kljesten should have done better with only the goalkeeper to beat when Razov put him through with a penetrating ball. And even Cunliffe sent a 18-yard shot whizzing just wide.

But until Razov scored, solid chances were few and far between.

Now Chivas USA go into Thursday's SuperClassico against the Galaxy tied with them for the Western Conference lead.

Ladies and gentlemen, a meaningful game awaits on national TV.

Back with a (little) more later.

For the first 35 minutes or so this was a frenetic, yet largely directionless game, punctuated only by a 16th minute Jonathan Bornstein shot that Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon did well to hold onto with one hand.

Then, while the half ended 0-0, the scoring chances started coming fast and furious beginning in the 37th minute.

First, San Jose's Ramiro Corrales ripped off a 35-yard shot that beat goalkeeper Brad Guzan, but not the post.

Two minutes later, Chivas USA appealed for a penalty after Jason Hernandez appeared to pull down Atiba Harris in the box.

Two minutes after that a Bobby Burling header hit the bar from a corner kick.

Another two minutes after that Razov almost caught Cannon napping (or unsighted?), almost squeezing a quick shot inside the post.

Chivas USA (5-6-3) can jump from sixth to tied for first in the Western Conference with the Galaxy if they manage to beat the worst team in MLS, the San Jose Earthquakes (3-8-3), who have one goal in the last four games while going 0-2-2.

Coach Preki makes three changes to the team that drew 1-1 last week with the Red Bulls. Carey Talley, who played midfield in that game, returns in defense at the expense of veteran Jim Curtin, while Justin Braun joins him on the bench, since Atiba Harris is favored. Paulo Nagamura, suspended for the game against the Red Bulls, returns as holding midfielder.

Jonathan Bornstein, inexplicably listed as a forward yet again, will start at left back.

Complete line-up: Brad Guzan, Bobby Burling, Talley, Claudio Suarez, Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan, Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza, Harris, Ante Razov, Bornstein.

The Earthquakes team: Joe Cannon, James Riley, Nick Garcia, Jason Hernandez, Eric Denton, Ronnie O'Brien, Ramiro Corrales, kelly Gray, Ivan Guerrero, Ryan Johnson, Kei Kamara.

Ned Grabavoy is on the bench nursing a groin problem.

Let's deal with the "more" in the headline first for a change.

The U.S. Women's National Team game in Sweden kicked off at 9 a.m. Details and MatchTracker here.

More more later, if you catch my drift.

Back to regular programming.

Chivas USA (5-6-3) and (3-8-3) San Jose face off at 7:30 tonight at Home Depot Center in the second soccer game (and second fireworks display) of the weekend.

With a win, Chivas USA can pull level on points with the Galaxy for the Western Conference lead, giving extra spice to Thursday's derby between the two teams.

And Chivas USA is offering a family pack of four tickets, four hats and four hot dogs for $58, which is a pretty good deal. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

More on the game and young striker Jorge Flores is here.

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon discloses for the first time a foot injury that has hampered his play since April for the Earthquakes.

But of course the Earthquakes' biggest problem is at the other end of the field - they've scored a league-low 10 goals. Lawndale's Kei Kamara needs to step it up.

Meanwhile, press box colleague Luis Bueno runs the rule over the Mexican players (repeatedly) linked with Chivas USA - Borgetti and Bautista.

Also:

*In PDL games Friday, it was the San Fernando Valley Quakes 1 Lancaster Rattlers 1.

Tonight it's the Ventura County Fusion at Southern California Seahorses at 7 p.m. at La Mirada High.

*In the W-League tonight, it's the Seattle Sounders at Pali Blues at 8 p.m. at Palisades High.

*In the WPSL today, the Los Angeles Rampage take on the California Storm at 7 p.m. in Granada Hills, while at 2 p.m. Ajax America Women host the California Storm at Rolling Hills Estates' Nansen Field.

I'll be back later today, blogging from the Chivas USA game at Home Depot Center.

New England Coach Steve Nichol believed his team deserved to win, Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit said L.A. deserved at least a draw tonight.

Coaches always say stuff like that of course, but who do you believe?

Gullit said midfield was the biggest problem for the Galaxy tonight:

"People panic under a little bit of pressure and give the ball away to the opposition," he said. "That is the main problem at the moment for this team. It's not that we don't defend. It's just that at vital moments on the pitch we do something unnecesary."

Defense is not the problem? Is he noticing how Abel Xavier plays?

Well, Gullit wasn't about to single Xavier out for criticism:

"It was his man who scored the goal on the corner kick," was about as far as Gullit would be drawn. "He knows that it's his responsibility."

New England's Adam Cristman summed up Xavier's play (or lack thereof) on the second goal:

"I was trying to keep on the other side of Abel and keep him turned around so he didn't know where I was," he said "I guess he lost me."

I guess. Xavier lost me a long time ago.

Here's David Beckham on the effect Landon Donovan had on the game:

"When he did come on he changed the game. ... It put us on the front foot and gave us more space to create chances."

Edson Buddle agreed:

"In the second half we were able to possess the ball and Landon is a good runner with the ball. With the pace that he had he was able to break them down and free up - everyone."

Donovan's influence was all the more remarkable considering his rather nasty sounding bout with the flu meant he couldn't train for two or three days this week.

Gullit was asked straight out whether Carlos Ruiz, who made a perfunctory appearance in the 84th minute will be traded. Reading between the lines, the answer was, yes, considering the 10 goals in 11 games Buddle has scored:

"Every week (Edson) shows how good he is and how important he is to the team. He holds the ball and creates chances. So for Carlos it will be very hard (to start) for those reasons also."

In other words, as Gullit has complained previously, Ruiz doesn't hold the ball or create many chances.

He won't be going to the Columbus Crew in a trade for Frankie Hejduk, though. Gullit said has no idea who the national team defender is. Really. As one colleague observed, he didn't notice Frankie when the Galaxy played the Crew a couple of weeks back?

By the way, Donovan has no idea whether he will be called up as one of three over-age players into the Olympic team and has not talked with U.S. Coach Peter Nowak.

"If asked I'd love to go and if not I'd love to be here," he said. "That's the simplest way to put it."

Quote of the Day goes to the always genial Mike Randolph, who tried to downplay the fact his two chances from Beckham crosses in the first half (that both went wide) constituted virtually the entirety of the Galaxy's offense at that stage of the game: "I have no attacking skills whatsoever," he said.

That's OK, Mike, neither do some of your teammates.

Game story is here.

Highlights

Landon Donovan arrived at half time in place of the invisible Alan Gordon and duly almost resurrected the Galaxy, engineering L.A.'s second half goal to make it 2-1.

The Revs hung on, however, and now the Galaxy go into Thursday's derby with Chivas USA without a win in three games.

The goal came in the 66th minute with Donovan sprinting 40 yards with the ball in a counter-attack that culminated with David Beckham scoring from 14 yards for his fifth goal of the season.

Edson Buddle could have tied it in the 77th minute, but crashed a shot from 12 yards off the bar after Becks had set him up perfectly with a well-hit pass.

More ugliness for the Galaxy.

The Revs have taken a well-deserved 2-0 lead with both goals coming from Adam Cristman, his fifth and sixth of the year - a career high.

The Revs had the bulk of possession, most of the attacking play and looked altogether the more cohesive unit. The Galaxy could consider themselves lucky not to be down by three after Cristman ripped by Abel Xavier in stoppage time like he wasn't even there and crossed to Mauricio Castro who hit the post from close range.

In fact, the Galaxy barely had a glimpse of goal until Mike Randolph headed a David Beckham cross wide just before the half hour mark for their first attempt on goal.

The Galaxy conceded the first goal from a corner, Shalrie Joseph connecting with a strong header goalkeeper Steve Cronin couldn't hold and Cristman following up for the garbage goal.

Xavier was to blame for the second goal, Cristman latching onto another corner from about nine yards and leaping over Xavier in the process.

Fortunately, Assistant Galaxy General Manager Tom Payne confirmed to MLS Magazine Editor Scott French that Argentine defender Eduardo Dominguez will arrive mid-month.

The Galaxy finished the half with zero shots on goal to the Revs' six.

The Eastern Conference (and MLS) leading Revolution (9-4-3) visit the Western Conference leading Galaxy (6-5-3) tonight seeking to extend their undefeated streak over L.A. to eight regular season games, a record that dates back to April 2004.

The Galaxy haven't lost an Independence Day game since 2001, however, so it appears something has to give. (And it's probably worth noting, too, that the Galaxy are 1-5-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season).

Coach Ruud Gullit has made two changes to the team that slumped to defeat against D.C. United last time out: Landon Donovan, apparently suffering the lingering effects of the flu, is on the bench so Alan Gordon gets a first start in almost a month, while Joe Franchino (making his first start since May 31) comes in for Ely Allen.

The line-up: goalkeeper Steve Cronin; defenders Chris Klein (making his 100th consecutive MLS start), Sean Franklin, Abel Xavier and Ante Jazic; midfielders David Beckham, Alvaro Pires, Franchino and Mike Randolph; forwards Edson Buddle and Gordon.

Carlos Ruiz is also on the bench.

The Revs start the same XI that beat Toronto last weekend: Matt Reis, Chris Albright, Michael Parkhurst, Mauricio Castro, Jay Heaps, Sainey Nyassi, MLS Player of the Week Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Kheli Dube and Adam Cristman.

Taylor Twellman is on the bench, as expected.

As readers of this blog learned Wednesday from beat writer Scott Wolf, neither David Beckham (sore hamstring) or Landon Donovan (flu) practiced with the team yesterday and could miss tonight's game against the New England Revolution, who will have Taylor Twellman on the bench.

So possibly no stars for the Galaxy, but there will be fireworks after the game. It's live on Prime at 7:30 p.m.

Chivas USA plays Saturday at Home Depot Center (and yeah, they have fireworks, too) against San Jose. The Earthquakes are the lowest-scoring team in MLS so naturally they are bidding to sign a - 37-year-old Brazilian midfielder.

In other unexpected player news, former Galaxy player Joseph Ngwenya is trying out for former Galaxy Assistant Coach Martin Zuniga and his boss Jurgen Klinsmann at Bayern Munich.

From the interminable award department: Becks and Donovan as well as Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Luciano Emilio (D.C. United) and Matt Reis (New England Revolution) are up for the MLS Best Player of the Year Award at the 16th annual ESPY's. Donovan has won the last two years.

Fans can vote through July 12 at www.espys.tv The show airs at 6 p.m. July 20 on ESPN.

Not to be outdone Univision has their own set of awards for Latino athletes such as Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire), Omar Bravo (CD Guadalajara) and Guillermo Ochoa (Club América) who are up for North American Soccer Player of the Year. (I nominate Univision for the Creatively Named Category Award, by the way).

There are 10 categories in the "Tecate Premios Deportes" awards airing July 20.

Other nominees: Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Juan Pablo Angel, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Claudio Suarez - and Jonathan Bornstein (?).

Details here.

In the W-League Thursday, the Seattle Sounders beat the Ventura County Fusion 3-0.

In the PDL tonight, the San Fernando Valley Quakes play at the Lancaster Rattlers in a 7 p.m. game at Pete Knight High.

Enjoy the holiday and break away from the bar-b-que occasionally to check back here on the Galaxy's progess tonight where I'll blog the game highlights.

David Beckham celebrates his ninth wedding anniversary on the Fourth of July.

``It's a special day for America and for me,'' he said Thursday.

Several U.S. media outlets this morning identified the Argentine defender rumored to be heading to the Galaxy for the last week or so as 29-year-old Huracan player Eduardo Dominguez, based, in turn, on several reports out of Latin America.

Galaxy officials declined comment when I inquired about Dominguez today, which is sometimes the same as a confirmation, so read into that what you will.

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham missed training with a sore hamstring and said he was ``hopeful'' he would play Friday but was ``not sure.''

Beckham said he woke up with a tightness in his left hamstring.

``I'll have to see how it feels in the morning,'' Beckham said. ``At the moment, it's just tightness.''

Galaxy striker Landon Donovan missed the past two days of training with the flu and is questionable for Friday's game against New England.

Word of further major newsroom cuts at the L.A. Times against a backdrop of a worsening economy will undoubtedly have implications for soccer coverage locally.

It may seem a small detail in the overall dire scheme of things, but it points to another challenge for a sport still struggling for media coverage.

Two weeks ago the Orange County Register stopped covering the Galaxy, a move that comes after the newspaper made a similar decision in regard to Chivas USA last season.

Last week Frank Dell'Apa of The Boston Globe, one of the best soccer writers in the nation, was pulled from the New England Revolution beat to cover the Celtics.

And the newspaper group I work for has previously suffered employee losses among those of us who cover soccer, while such other outlets as the San Diego Union-Tribune have also reduced soccer coverage in the past few months.

The Times, too, mostly covers soccer on its Web site these days rather than the printed page and Chivas USA beat writer Jaime Cardenas was recently reassigned to cover preps.

That leaves the dean of soccer writers in Southern California, Grahame L. Jones, as one of the few writers dedicated to covering the sport in the nation.

But for how much longer?

Grahame, who sits next to me in the Home Depot Center press box, is nearing retirement and is undoubtedly one of the better paid writers at The Times (he's covered soccer since the mid-1970s), so is a likely candidate to take a severance package. Even if he doesn't, Grahame won't be around forever and it's unclear whether he would be replaced upon retirement.

That would be a loss for soccer locally and nationally.

Some fans don't like Grahame because of his criticism of MLS, but he has contributed much to the growth of the sport over the years, fighting for column inches and dealing with editors who don't understand soccer.

At a time when soccer's popularity has never been higher in this country, the presence of David Beckham is generating more attention (and capacity crowds in Carson) than ever before and the increasing Latino population in Southern California and the U.S. in general means an ever-larger audience for the sport, it's disquieting that coverage by mainstream media is on the decline.

Niche publications, like this blog, are filling some of the void, (MLS recently hired a staffer solely to provide support to blogs and Web sites), but soccer needs coverage by more generalized outlets if it is to continue to grow.

The newspaper group I work for is one of only a few in the nation to dedicate space on a weekly basis to a soccer columnist (yours truly every Tuesday). There's little reason to suggest that will change anytime soon.

I often hear from readers pleading for more soccer coverage, but with fewer bodies in newsrooms generally, that is an uphill battle.

Simply put, soccer fans who want to read more about the sport need to support those outlets that do cover it. Or soccer coverage will continue to get kicked to the sidelines.

The Galaxy announced today they are selling tickets for Friday's game against the New England Revolution on the grass berm at the north end of the stadium - for $36 a pop.

Considering the cheapest seats in the stadium are $15 for the game that seems more than a little pricey, especially considering you have to bring your own blanket. By way of explanation though the Galaxy press release observes that the berm "will give one of the best views of the postgame fireworks over the South end of the stadium."

It's not the best place to watch the actual game though (despite the Galaxy insisting that it is), but on Independence Day it's all about the fireworks off the field anyway.

A capacity crowd is expected, so get their early to avoid the Home Depot Center parking hassles.

Call 877-3GALAXY for tickets.

It seems Sigi Schmid has designs on trading for the Galaxy's Carlos Ruiz, which seems a little strange since Sigi used to complain about how much time Fish spent in local night clubs when he was the coach here in L.A. Guess there are few nightclubs in Columbus.

The U.S. Women's National Team beat Norway - their first opponents at the Olympics - 4-0 today.

Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach had an assist and a goal in the 87th minute to register her 99th international goal (USC's Amy Rodriguez had the assist).

Next for the U.S.: Sweden on Saturday.

Finally, W-League team the Ventura County Fusion hosts the Seattle Sounders at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Buena High.

Gotta run - just 30 minutes or so left to register my picks for the MLS All-Star Game.

Regular readers will know I'm no fan of the FIFA ranking system, but the latest was released today and it's somehow disturbing that the U.S. plummeted to No. 30 behind the likes of Israel and Egypt (but ahead of Northern Ireland!).

Here's the complete list. It's reportedly the lowest U.S. ranking in 15 months.

Meanwhile, Orange County resident and new Bayern Munich Coach Jurgen Klinsmann met the media for the first time today at a nationally televised press conference.

Lastly, the Loyola Marymount women's schedule was released today.

*The U.S. Women's National Team is playing Norway right now. The truly fanatical can follow along on MatchTracker here.

*The Revolution plays the Galaxy Friday marking the first time former Los Angeles defender Chris Albright has played his old team since his trade to New England.

"I was kind of hurt by it. I was just kind of thrown away like that," Albright told the Riverside Press Enterprise.

Read the whole thing here.

*Loyola Marymount has released its 2008 men's soccer schedule.

*ESPN Deportes' coverage of the Germany-Spain Euro 2008 Final Sunday was one of the highest-rated sporting events on Spanish-language television so far this year with a 10.08 rating.

*UCLA's Brian Perk (Rancho Santa Margarita) and Eder Arreola (Chino Hills) as well as Chivas USA's Jorge Flores (Anaheim) were named to a 16-player roster for the U.S. Under-20 National Team that will play Mexico July 12 in Laredo, Texas.

Chivas USA:
*Lost yet again Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup (and for the second successive year) against the USL Seattle Sounders, falling 2-0 in the Pacific Northwest.

*Had the experienced likes of Claudio Suárez, Jesse Marsch, Carey Talley and Francisco Mendoza on the bench. Striker Ante Razov and defender Bobby Burling (Loyola Marymount) remained in Southern California after picking up minor knocks over the weekend.

*Has won only one U.S. Open Cup game in five attempts - against USL-2 team Charlotte Eagles.

Game story here.

Chivas USA lineup: (4-3-3): Brad Guzan; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas, Daniel Paladini; Sacha Kljestan (Keith Savage 83), Paulo Nagamura[C], Kraig Chiles (Jesse Marsch 65); Jorge Flores (Anthony Hamilton 73), Justin Braun (Francisco Mendoza 60), Atiba Harris.

Today's column looked at the schizophrenic Galaxy as a metaphor for MLS.

On cue, Steven Goff's Soccer Insider blog reports this morning the Galaxy are interested in signing an unnamed Argentine central defender perhaps using Carlos Ruiz as trade bait. Goff mentions Chivas USA as a possible destination for Ruiz.