Easter Soccer Preview: Galaxy, Chivas USA on the road

If it’s a weekend resembling a holiday, you just know the Galaxy and Chivas USA, who appear to be heading in opposite directions on the field, are both out of town.

The David Beckham-less Galaxy are in Kansas City to take on the league leaders (1 p.m. today on ESPN) and could be without Landon Donovan, too, while Chivas USA visit that exhilerating madhouse in Portland to face Timber Joey and his lads (7:30 p.m. KDOC, KWHY). Could a segment of Chivas USA fans get their wish and see Miller Bolanos and Cesar Romero start up front after their sparkling display in a reserve game Monday against the Galaxy against a potentially vulnerable team?

Here’s more from KC:

The Chivas USA perspective:

The Goats need to watch out for this rising star:

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Smile soccer fans! You’ll be on a Candid Camera as you head down Carson’s Avalon Boulevard to Home Depot Center

Yup, the city of Carson is spending $300,000 of taxpayer money to spy on taxpayers.

So, crooks be sure and use other major thoroughfares such as 190th Street or Main Street where there are no cameras yet.

And sure, while we may have no expectation of privacy in a public place, how many of us really wants to live in an society with such Orwellian overtones here in the alleged land of the free (and watched)?

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Thursday Kicks: Three for Thursday (and a cool video)

All Rise:

Here’s three links for Thursday:

*Wonder how big a difference owning a stadium makes for an MLS team? Chivas USA fans can get an idea of what awaits their club if it ever stops becoming a renter at Home Depot Center here.

*It may be early in the season, but the defending MLS champion Galaxy is falling ever further behind rivals Real Salt Lake.

*After the experience of first Seattle and now Toronto, given the Galaxy’s current form maybe it’s just as well they didn’t face a Mexican club in the CONCACAF Champions League, huh?

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Tuesday Kicks: Chivas USA sign local 16-year-old to pro contract & more

A quick round-up of local soccer news:

*Chivas USA has signed Glendora resident Marco Antonio “Marky” Delgado, 16, as a homegrown player, the club announced today.

“I am really excited to have Marky Delgado become part of our first team. He is a player who has done so well for our youth team since he has been with us,” said Chivas USA Coach, Robin Fraser. “He is a player who immediately stood out as a very solid player and we’ve had him training with us for quite a while now and you can even see over the last couple of months how much he has developed. He has great ideas on the ball, a very soft first touch, and he has really picked up the pace at this level quickly. He is definitely one that we expect a bright future from.”

The midfielder has apparently always been ahead of his peers: At age 13 he was a member of the U.S. Under-15 team. He was also a member of the Under-17 residency program in Bradenton., Fla.

*The Galaxy’s Landon Donovan is listed as questionable for Saturday’s visit to league leaders Sporting Kansas City with left quad tightness, as is Mike Magee, who has a tight right adductor.

*The UCLA women play China’s Under-20 Women’s National Team at 6 p.m. Thursday on Field No. 3 at Home Depot Center in Carson. Admission is free and fans who attend will receive a free voucher for an upcoming future UCLA women’s game.

*China is in the U. S. preparing for this summer’s U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan and will play matches Monday and April 15 at the HDC against their U.S. counterparts that are also open to the public. The games are at either noon or 3 p.m. (a Monday U.S. Soccer press release gave both times) and I’ll confirm the start times as soon as can.

The U.S. roster includes defenders Caprice Dydasco (UCLA; Honolulu) and Lauren Lindstrom (Fresno State; Newbury Park) and midfielder Sarah Killion (UCLA; Fort Wayne, Ind.)

*Tab Ramos, the U.S. Under-20 coach on the men’s side, has called 24 players into a camp that begins Monday in Oregon. Locals involved include goalkeeper Jake McGuire (Chivas USA Academy; Pomona); defenders Juan Pablo Ocegueda (UANL Tigres; Riverside), Jeffrey Payeras (Galaxy Academy; Hawthorne) and Derek Vogel (Pateadores; Long Beach); and striker Jack McBean (Galaxy; Newport Beach)

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Weekly Soccer Column: Is Chivas USA the best MLS team in LA?

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It’s not often an MLS reserve team game also serves to emphasize the strengths and weaknesses of the senior squad, too.

But one could argue that was the case Monday at Home Depot Center.

And on that evidence, not only does Chivas USA have a better defense than the Galaxy right now, it also appears on the verge of solving its goalscoring problems — something the Galaxy can’t say about its back line.

Conclusion: Right now you could argue Chivas USA is the better team period — and we haven’t said that in quite a few years.

Read more in today’s column.

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