Recently in Beckham Category

Sports Illustrated has a sneak peek at the forthcoming book by writer Grant Wahl.

Looks like Galaxy fans aren't the only ones unconvinced of David Beckham's supposed commitment to the Galaxy.

Landon Donovan:

"He's not. He's not shown that. I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good teammate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care. But with [Beckham] I'd say no, he wasn't committed."

Sounds like the Galaxy are going to have a splendid time when/if Beckham returns doesn't it?

Read more here.

Galaxy Preview
Yes, the Galaxy have a friendly at 7:30 tonight against Costa Rican team Club Sport Herediano at Home Depot Center.

International friendlies like these are usually of limited interest to all but the most hard-core fans. The Galaxy will use the occasion to give younger and/or squad players valuable minutes, while the Costa Rican team gets to connect with its not inconsquential Southern California fan base.

Don't expect to see much of the likes of Costa Rican internationals Andy Herron, Dennis Marshal and Ricardo González, who will undoubtedly rest up after two World Cup qualifying games in the last week.

The Galaxy's official blog has a preview and word of new players training with the team who will likely see some minutes.

Wonder if there will be more Galaxy or Costa Rica fans in attendance?

Meanwhile, here's an update on soon-to-be Galaxy player Chris Burchall from his hometown newspaper.

BTW, no live blogging from me. I'm still without a functioning laptop and have to go to a Torrance City Council budget meeting anyway (I'm not kidding).

Chivas USA Update
The MLS leaders play the team that sits six points behind them in the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo, Wednesday in Texas in a game to be broadcast live on ESPN2 and W Radio 690 AM.

Justin Braun and Shavar Thomas are both listed as questionable with concussions.

And finally
It appears David Beckham will get a rare start on Wednesday for England against mighty Andorra, although just getting to the game sounds like a nightmare.

With a busy week of World Cup qualifying ahead, I have a column to write for Tuesday summing up the competition so far and looking ahead to next year's tournament.

With that in mind, I'll keep things brief here, but wanted to note that:

*Fontana's Maurice Edu will not travel with the U.S. to Costa Rica for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier while the knee injury he suffered in Rangers' final league game May 24 against Dundee is evaluated more. Initial reports of the severity of the injury do not sound good.

*David Beckham is done in Italy - for now, - but Galaxy fans should not expect to see much of him.

*The Sol plan to Webcast their rare Wednesday night game at Home Depot Center against the Chicage Red Stars. Calling the club's first-ever Webcast is Sol Director of Media Relations Nick Ammazzalorso, who has previously been behind the mike as the play-by-play voice for the University of Maryland's men's and women's teams and the Buffalo Blizzard of the indoor National Professional Soccer League

The color commentator will be Aaron Heifetz, press officer for the U.S. Women's National Team and one of the most knowledgeable observers of the women's game around. Listen here beginning at 7:25 p.m. Wednesday.

Recapping the weekend:

AP Photo

* David Beckham wasn't lying down on the job Sunday: AC Milan moved into second place in Serie A with a win over Palermo.

*Is it too early to begin the Juergen Klinsmann to the Galaxy rumors? The Orange County resident was fired Monday by Bayern Munich.

*Fontana's Maurice Edu is just beginning to gain some traction with Glasgow Rangers after an injury-marred season.

*Pasadena City College product Yura Movsisyan is finally off the mark for Real Salt Lake.

*The Sol's French midfielder Camille Abily and Les Bleues earned their second victory over Switzerland in three days Saturday, the lone goal in the 1-0 win coming from the penalty spot. Meanwhile, Marta and Brazil lost 3-1 Saturday to Sweden. Both players will return to the Sol in time for this weekend's road game against the Boston Breakers.

*The National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., has received the game ball and official lineups from the first-ever WPS game played March 29th between the Los Angeles Sol and the Washington Freedom at Home Depot Center. The items go on display in early May.

*Hollywood United have replaced the San Fernando Valley Quakes in the PDL.

*And for those of you who might have missed them, here are the highlights of the Galaxy's 1-1 tie Saturday in Colorado:

Briefly:

* The San Fernando Valley Quakes of the Premier Development League announced today that they are the latest casualty of the economy. The team lasted three years. The 2009 season was scheduled to begin May 1.

* MLS gets its Becks bucks.

* Manhattan Beach resident Amy Massey, a defender with the USC soccer team, will attend Oxford on a NCAA scholarship. Massey played her final season for USC last year.

*The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team, which includes Carlos Martinez of San Pedro, has qualified for the World Cup this fall. The team beat Canada 4-2 Thursday to clinch qualification.

*Sol striker Camille Abily scored in France's 2-0 win over Switzerland Wednesday in Dijon; the teams meet again Saturday.

*First-place Chivas USA (4-1-1) hosts FC Dallas (1-3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center in a game that's live on KAZA and tape-delayed at 9 p.m. on Prime. Kids 16 and under get in free with every adult ticket purchased. The Galaxy are on the road in Colorado Saturday, (the game will be shown on tape-delay at 10 p.m. on Fox Sports West) as are the Sol who face Saint Louis Athletica.

How the mighty have fallen.

This is the Marshall's store at Torrance's Del Amo Fashion Center over the weekend (pic snapped via the wife's cell phone).

There were one or two Chivas USA and Chicago Fire shirts to be found and a whole rack of David Beckham Galaxy blue road replica jerseys, which once sold for around $85, now on sale for $24.99.

Don't cry for Becks though: he's doing just fine in Italy.

Busy (and slow-starting) day working on Tuesday's column, a preview of this weekend's game of the MLS season so far: Saturday's match-up between MLS leader Chivas USA and second-place team the Seattle Sounders at Home Depot Center. I'll post that in the morning. (The Galaxy play in San Jose Saturday, BTW).

Names in the news include:

*Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who today became only the club's third to be named MLS Player of the Week after making five saves in the 0-0 draw with Chivas USA on his MLS debut. Ricketts joins Kevin Hartman and Joe Cannon as the only goalkeepers in Galaxy history to keep a clean sheet in their first-ever start for the club.

The only other Galaxy goalkeepers named MLS Player of the Week: Jorge Campos (1996) and Kevin Hartman (1999 and 2002).

*Question: Will David Beckham improve his chances of playing for England at the 2010 World Cup sitting on the bench in Milan or playing in L.A.? Daily Mail.

*Midfielder Alberto Lopez, 17, from Aurora, IL, won the nationally-televised player search Sueño MLS 2009 and will receive an invitation to join the Chicago Fire Juniors.

*South (Torrance) High's Lauren Hein was named Daily Breeze Player of the Year, while South's Brad Gomez was named Coach of the Year.

It's only a preliminary round game and only the most hard-core fans will be there, but the Galaxy play a return fixture against the Colorado Rapids at 8 p.m. at Home Depot Center with the winner moving on to the next round to play Seattle or Real Salt Lake for a berth in the U.S. Open Cup.

Injuries
Leonard Griffin (Sports Hernia Surgery) is out; Edson Buddle (right quad strain), Todd Dunivant (right ankle), Mike Magee (bruised right foot), Donovan Ricketts (groin strain) are questionable; and Eddie Lewis (left Hamstring strain) is probable.

Awards
*Alan Gordon's second half goal against Colorado has been nominated for Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Week. Vote here.

*Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey was voted MLS Player of the Week for Week 3. (You're welcome).

Trivia
*Saturday's loss to the Rapids was the 400th game in Galaxy history. Their all-time record: 184-152-64. Saturday's game kept one streak alive: the Galaxy have lost their 100th, 200th, 300th and now 400th games in club history.

*Saturday's game between the Galaxy and Rapids was just the second time in MLS history neither goalkeeper recorded a save in a game. Colorado scored on all of their three shots on target, the Galaxy on their two. Shoot more! The last time this happened: May 18, 2005, when Real Salt Lake beat Chivas USA, 2-0. Brad Guzan was in goal for Chivas USA.

Gratuitous David Beckham Reference
* News of the World.

AP Photo

Becks salutes fans in a final farewell after today's England victory over the Ukraine in World Cup qualifying.

President Barack Obama today announced MLS will qualify for millions in federal economic aid in an effort to retain Galaxy midfielder David Beckham and stop him from joining Italian giants AC Milan later this year, 100 Percent Soccer has exclusively learned.

President Obama made the shock announcement during his visit to England after watching today's Eastbourne Borough Blue Square Premier game against Ebbsfleet where he saw distant cousin Achtog Laprifolo play for Borough. The league had first disclosed his visit on its Web site.

"I may not know much about European football, but after watching this minor league game I have to say MLS has a long way to go to catch up to even this standard," the U.S. President said. "What better way to improve the American game than to continue to enjoy the splendid play of the world's greatest ambassador for the sport.

"Let me be clear," he added. "When we have titans of American industry like (Anschutz Entertainment Group owner Phil) Anschutz needlessly hurting in today's economic conditions, it behooves us to ensure billionaires like him don't become mere multimillionaires. He may have supported the Republican Party in the past, but we must move beyond such partisan bickering. Without the support of visionary businessmen like him MLS wouldn't exist. Plus, this will improve the chances of myself and Michelle scoring seats for the Coldplay concert this summer at Home Depot Center."

MLS Commissioner Don "the Godfather' Garber, reached at home where the noted wine lover was snuggled up with a bottle of 1992 Gevrey-Chambertin, said he was surprised the President made the announcement, which has been in the works for weeks.

"Mama mia!" he said. "We will not allow a nation of noted divers and whiners - at least on the football field - to steal David from us. The President has displayed remarkably good judgment in reaching this agreement we hope will allow David to play for many years to come so we can jack up the prices of game tickets even more."

Under the accord, known as "Sciocco di aprile," the federal government will funnel an undisclosed amount of money to MLS the league will then use to entice Beckham away from all that lovely lire and say "arrivederci" to Serie A.

Not all of Beckham's Galaxy teammates were pleased with the report though.

"Damn, I thought we'd got rid of that twit for good," said midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, the closest thing the Galaxy has to an Italian. "Now I'm never going to make more than $29,684.22 a year with him soaking up all the cap money. I thought it was too good to be true - he doesn't know rigatoni from Michael Corleone."

The announcement came just minutes after Beckham and England had narrowly beaten the Ukraine 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier, captain John Terry getting on the end of Steven Gerrard's header from Beckham's free-kick with just five minutes remaining.

"David, he is beautiful," said England Manager Fabio Capello after the game. "I like him very, very much. And he isn't bad at the football either."

AP Photo

The part-time Galaxy midfielder set up one of England's four goals, as well.

And he looked pretty happy about it at Wembley.

Just in case it wasn't clear to anyone why nominal Galaxy midfielder David Beckham wants to stay in Italy:

LONDON (AP) -- England manager Fabio Capello is happy about David Beckham's extended loan to AC Milan, believing it's important for the midfielder to be playing at a higher level of soccer than MLS.

Capello believes Beckham's experience in Italy will make him sharper than if he had returned to the Galaxy.

"There is a difference," he said. "The standard is different and it's important for him at this moment to play in Europe. ... (MLS) is not the same level as the Europeans -- Italy, Spain, Germany or England for sure."

Milan, the Galaxy and Beckham worked out a deal for the former England captain to continue playing in Serie A until the end of the season. His initial loan ended March 8 and a new deal was negotiated after Milan failed to meet the Galaxy's terms for a full transfer.

Now Beckham won't go back to the Galaxy until June 30, about halfway through the MLS season. He then hopes to return to Milan in November, when the MLS season is over.

"I've no regrets about going to the United States or going back there to finish the season," Beckham said.

Capello was also Beckham's coach at Real Madrid two seasons ago when the team won the Spanish league title. He left the 33-year-old star off his England squads when the MLS season ended last year and Beckham wasn't playing competitive soccer. Capello brought him back when he went on loan to Milan and began playing regularly again.

Beckham equaled Bobby Moore's record for a non-goalkeeper, making his 108th
appearance when he played in last month's 2-0 loss to Spain. He also could make a run at Peter Shilton's national record of 125 appearances.

"I watched on TV the last two games David Beckham played for AC Milan," Capello said. "He played very well."

Capello said he had no hand in the deal for Beckham to stay at San Siro.

"It's a personal decision; it's not my decision," he said. "It's an agreement between two teams and the player. It's not my problem. But I am happy that, when I watched the performances, he was very, very good. For me the most important thing is this, not the
agreement between the teams."

Barring an injury against Napoli on Sunday night, Beckham is almost certain to be in
Capello's squad when it is announced shortly afterward for a March 28 exhibition game against Slovakia and an April 1 World Cup qualifying game against Ukraine.

Beckham is intent on becoming part of England's team for the World Cup in South Africa in what would be his fourth World Cup.

England has won all four of its World Cup group games, and Capello is confident the team will bounce back from its exhibition loss to Spain. The Italian coach has reignited England's game following its failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

"We cannot play like Spain, the same style, because English players cannot play like the Spanish players," he said. "We have to play with our style. We have to press, we have to play more quickly, we have to move forward, the style of some teams of the Premier League."

Sorry.

But so many people either sent me or are linking to this little gem from one of England's trashiest tabloids I felt compelled to exploit the story
um, get it on the record.

The deal won't happen, even without considering the source.

If the wanna-be Real Madrid president planted this, it's merely a ploy to win votes for the Spanish club's highly-politicized presidential election. It's common for candidates to make such promises to fans as in "I will bring you Kaka, Beckham and Josh Wicks." Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.

Also, Becks has been there and done that (see also why he'll leave the Galaxy this fall).

Almost equally as amusing is this cautionary tale for government bureaucrats who want to pander to the public.

And I loved this line at the end of the story: "Although a financial flop, the event is credited with helping to raise New Zealand's international profile."

How? As in being the latest schmucks to get taken in by the Beckham hype?

Finally, is it somehow comforting to know we can rely on The Hindustan Times to tell us this.

That is all. You may now resume your non-Beckham news consumption.

AP Photo

An easy win over lowly Siena today for AC Milan and David Beckham.

The Galaxy midfielder didn't have an outstanding game, but then he didn't have to. The star for Milan: Filippo Inzaghi, scoring his 300th career goal.

Meanwhile, the English are finally catching on to what Galaxy fans have learned over the last couple of years.

And Milan are reportedly not the only European club that wants Beckham.

Briefly:

*Could Inter Milan also play in Carson this fall? Don't bet on it.

*The U.S. Under-20 Men's Team plays Trinidad & Tobago tonight, but Chivas USA's Jorge Flores will not be there after getting a late red in his first start for the team against El Salvador. Here's what he had to say after his ejection.

*Thanks to all who participated in the Beckham poll. I'd say the results were fairly conclusive. Will Beckham get booed when he returns?

*Updated - Here's the Galaxy travel roster from the club's official blog for the game Saturday in Arizona against the Chicago Fire:

Goalkeepers: Donovan Ricketts and Josh Saunders

Defenders: A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Dan Gargan, Omar Gonzalez, Yohance Marshall, Tony Sanneh and Julian Valentin.

Midfielders: Chris Klein, Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Patterson and Josh Tudela.

Forwards: Tristan Bowen, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan, Jovan Kirovski and Mike Magee.

That means that Edson Buddle, Todd Dunivant, Leonard Griffin, Eddie Lewis, Stefani Miglioranzi and Israel Sesay remain behind in Los Angeles.

Briefly:

*David Beckham said the ankle he twisted Tuesday should be fine by the weekend, although it appears worse than he's letting on (sound familiar?).

*The U.S. moved up three spots to 17th in the latest (always suspect) FIFA rankings released today.

The top seven spots remained unchanged with Spain atop the pile and Croatia seventh; Mexico, BTW, moved up one spot to 23rd. Hmmm.

*UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk got his third shutout in as many games and Chivas USA's Jorge Flores got his first start of the tournament as the U.S.Under-20 Men's National Team defeated El Salvador 2-0 Tuesday night to clinch a spot in the FIFA World Cup for the age bracket set for Egypt this fall.

*As I write this the U.S. women are trailing Sweden 1-0 in the Algarve Cup final. Heather Mitts is making her 100th U.S. appearance. Updated: Torrance's Shannon Boxx equalized in second half stoppage time, but the U.S. lost on penalties.

FYI, busy day today attending to other matters, so minimal blogging.

Updated 10 a.m. - No surprise here: MLS just awarded the 2009 MLS Cup to Seattle where more than 20,000 fans have scooped up season tickets to see the Sounders.