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First things first: the Galaxy's Alecko Eskandarian is on Drew Carey's "The Price is Right at 10 a.m. on CBS (sorry for the late notice).

In other momentous MLS Cup related news:

*Seattle introduces - the Galaxy dog.

*Former Galaxy midfielder Ned Grabavoy is a hero in Salt Lake City after scoring the PK that put them through to the final - but may not play Sunday against his former team.

*David Beckham hasn't trained fully with the team all week and may take pain killers to get through Sunday's game. (And be sure and check out Beckham's hairstyles through the years at the pic just to the right of the story on that Web page).

*Former Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas (and current ESPN soccer analyst) talks to Daily News sports media columnist Tom Hoffarth here.

*The Seattle Times is going all out with its on-line MLS Cup coverage.

And because we can't have enough pictures of the Galaxy logo atop Seattle's Space Needle: (MLS Photo)

In other soccer news:

*Some residents of a West Torrance neighborhood equate AYSO with prostitution (seriously).

*The CSUDH women's team plays its biggest game of the year tonight without its biggest offensive threat.

The 2-1 overtime loss this afternoon means victor Sacramento State, making their first tournament appearance, plays UCLA at 5 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium (in a game masterfully scheduled against the Galaxy's MLS Cup appearance).

In a good omen for next season, however, LMU will return 14 of the 19 players who suited up in the NCAA Tournament game.

Game details here.

From the Sac State press release:

Sacramento State heads into the match with the Bruins, who are 10-3-4 and ranked No. 8 in the latest NSCAA/Adidas coaches poll, riding a 10 match unbeaten streak. Sacramento State is 8-0-2 since a 2-1 loss at San Jose State on October 8. In the last NSCAA Far West region poll, published Nov. 10, UCLA was ranked third, while the Hornets were ranked eighth.

Winners of the Pac-10 title for the second straight year, UCLA is making its 27th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, having won the national title four times (1985, 1990, 1997, and 2002). They have advanced to the College Cup 12 times, with their most recent trip coming in 2006. The Bruins were members of the MPSF along with the Hornets from 1992-1999, and posted a perfect 4-0-0 record against Sacramento State. The last meeting between the two clubs came in 1998 at Hornet Soccer Field, a 3-0 victory for UCLA.

Bracket.

Loyola Marymount's fate from the West Coast Conference press release:

Loyola Marymount, which was ranked No. 15 in the most recently published NCAA Ratings Percentage Index, will be returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history. The Lions finished third in the WCC with a 10-8-2 overall record, marking Head Coach Paul Krumpe's fifth 10-plus victory season. The Lions will host Sacramento State (11-5-3) on Thursday, the official start date of first round play. The match start time is still to be determined. The winner of that match will move on to face No. 6 seed UCLA (10-3-4) at Drake Stadium on Sunday, November 22 at 5 PM.

Sacramento State is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Said UCLA Coach Jorge Salcedo:

"We're excited to be a Top 8 seed in this year's tournament. Regardless of your seed or where you end the season, it's the beginning of a new season, and whichever team we play will be a very tough, challenging match. Both LMU and Sac State had good conference seasons. LMU has proven to be able to go on the road and win big games, and Sac State winning the MPSF conference has proven their quality as well."

The Bruins, winners of back-to-back Pac-10 titles, extended their streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to 27 years.

Tickets to the Nov. 22 game are $9 adults and $7 students/youth.

Briefly:

*The initial 36,000 tickets for MLS Cup Sunday in Seattle sold out, so another 6,000 tickets have been put on sale. Details here.

*As unlikely as the Galaxy's run to MLS Cup was, Real Salt Lake's performance was even less expected. Reaction here.

*U.S. Coach Bob Bradley called in the Houston Dynamo midfield duo of Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden and Tigres defender Edgar Castillo for Wednesday's game against Demark. Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey and Chad Marshall were released. José Francisco Torres, who was initially called into camp for the game, has been excused for personal reasons.

* College roundup. In addition, the Loyola Marymount men (10-8-2, 5-5-2 WCC) beat Saint Mary's 2-0 Sunday. An at-large spot in the NCAA tournament is possible for the Lions who finished third in the conference. The draw is set for 5:30 p.m. today on ESPNews.

Updated noon:

Former Chivas USA Coach Preki is in talks with Toronto.

Former Galaxy player and goal hero Ned Grabavoy, left, and Real Salt Lake, which beat the Chicago Fire on penalty kicks to become Eastern Conference champions (let's get rid of these silly conferences based on irrelevant geography, MLS) will face the Galaxy Sunday in Seattle.

Grabavoy scored the winning goal just before the picture was taken above, although former Galaxy striker Robbie Findley almost scored in the dying moments of regulation time only to be denied by Palos Verdes Peninsula product John Thorrington.

Game story.

Wonder how relevant the two games these clubs have played this season already will be next Sunday?

A Landon Donovan-less Galaxy were abysmal in a 2-0 home loss to Real Salt Lake in June, while a 2-2 draw to RSL the previous month in Sandy, Utah wasn't much better.

Convinced next Sunday's game will have a better outcome?

Then you might want to click here.

In other Saturday soccer news:

* The UCLA men tied San Diego State 1-1 in their regular season finale with Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa getting the equalizer.

*And we have three newcomers to the party in South Africa next year.

Dont forget: We'll find out who the Galaxy play next Sunday at MLS Cup in Seattle - Real Salt Lake or Chicago Fire - at 5 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

(AP Photo)

A below-strength U.S. team lost 1-0 to Slovakia today in Bratislava, Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein being called for what was a very harsh penalty decision in the 26th minute (I think this is the moment, above, he 'brought down" Vladimir Weiss). That was Slovakia's only first half shot.

Not a thriller by any means. And no U.S. player really caught the eye, including Eddie Johnson who came out of the international wilderness on as a sub.

Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers went the full 90 U.S.; Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan came on in the 82nd minute to make his first appearance since the Confederations Cup.

U.S. lineup: 18-Brad Guzan; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 2-Jonathan Spector, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.) (25-Clarence Goodson, 72), 12-Jonathan Bornstein; 19-Robbie Rogers (16-Sacha Kljestan, 82), 5-Benny Feilhaber, 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey (28-Dax McCarty, 72); 17-Jozy Altidore (32-Jeff Cunningham, 82), 9-Conor Casey (36-Eddie Johnson, 46)
Subs not used: 15-Jimmy Conrad, 35-Marcus Hahnemann

Next: in Denmark Wednesday.

Lineup changes/roster additions are expected.

TV note: The game will kickoff on ESPN Classic live at 11:30 p.m. and then switch over to ESPN2 immediately following the conclusion of the UEFA qualifying playoff match between Ukraine and Greece.

Finally, Friday's college roundup is here.

*The Loyola Marymount men (9-8-2, 4-5-2 WCC) drew 2-2 with Santa Clara Friday, allowing the equalizer with a mere seven seconds on the clock. The Lions remain eleigible for a post-season at-large bid going into Sunday's season finale at Saint Mary's.

Plenty of other soccer on TV in addition to tonight's Galaxy-Dynamo game, while local colleges enter post-season play this weekend.

TV best bets
11 o'clock tonight Fox Soccer Channel New Zealand-Bahrain (World Cup qualifier with former Galaxy man Simon Elliot on the NZ squad).
7 a.m. Saturday FSC Slovakia-U.S.
9 a.m. Saturday FSC Brazil-England
12:55 p.m. Saturday ESPND Argentina-Spain
5 p.m. Saturday FSC Eastern Conference final Chicago Fire-Real Salt Lake

College games
UCLA-Boise State 5:30 p.m. today Drake Stadium. (The final UCLA men's game of the regular season against San Diego State follows at 7 p.m.).

USC-Oklahoma State in Santa Clara

CSUDH women-Dixie State (Utah) at noon today at Cal State L.A.

CSUDH men-Sonoma State at 4 p.m. today at Cal State L.A.

Galaxy central defender Omar Gonzalez, the club's top draft pick out of Maryland didn't miss a game for the Galaxy this year and was literally head and shoulders above other candidates.

From the Galaxy press release:

The 21-year old defender from Dallas, Texas, becomes the second consecutive Galaxy defender to win the award. Teammate Sean Franklin received the honor in 2008. Gonzalez received the most votes in polling of media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers. All first-year players in MLS without previous professional experience were considered for the Rookie of the Year award.

The 6-foot, 5-inch, 210-pound, defender was an imposing force on the backline for the Galaxy this season. His size and range were key factors in the most dramatic defensive turnaround in League history, as the Galaxy allowed only 31 goals in 2009 compared to 62 goals allowed the previous season. Gonzalez also scored one goal and added one assist in his rookie season.

Turning to Friday's main event in the form of the Galaxy-Dynamo Western Conference final at Home Depot Center:

*The latest claim is that Grant Wahl's The Beckham Experiment actually bought the team together. Do you buy that?

* The Dynamo expect Friday's game against the Galaxy to be, um, feisty. Hmmm. Let's hope it's more than that.

*Does MLS consistency give the Dynamo the edge Friday? This article claims it does. But, the Galaxy has nine players on its roster who have won an MLS Cup, while coaches Bruce Arena and Dave Sarachan have three MLS Cup apperances between them. And we're not even counting the experienced likes of Eddie Lewis, Gregg Berhalter and David Beckham, who has played 115 games or so for England and been in that World Cup thingie once or twice. He's not been in the MLS playoffs before though. So?

*And speaking of Beckham, England backs his withdrawal from its squad for a friendly this weekend because of the MLS playoffs. That's nice of them.

* Tickets, of course, to the game Friday are still on sale.

Finally, in college action Tuesday UCSB may have ended the season of the Cal State Northridge men (10-8-2) with a 1-0 win in the Big West Tournament..

The Matadors will learn whether their season is extended at 2:30 p.m. Monday on ESPNNews to see if they earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. UCSB advances to face UC Irvine at home in the tournament finals.

Read it here.

College soccer tournament games announced Monday:
* USC and UCLA women's details here.

*CSUDH women's and men's details here

* Cal State Northridge men

Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan, as well as former Goat Brad Guzan, were named to the 22-player U.S. squad today for games Saturday against Slovakia (10 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision) and Denmark four days later (no TV by the sound of it).

From U.S. Soccer::

The U.S. team began training this morning in Bratislava with 11 players, and the second half of the roster will be arriving during the next two days. Bradley will consider making changes to the squad following Saturday's match, when the team will make their first ever visit to Denmark for the USA's 24th and final match of the year. The 24 matches represent the third most games ever in a calendar for the U.S. The team set a record for the most games in official competitions in a year with 21 total, including the 10 final round matches the U.S. played to earn first place in CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and the five games that culminated in the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

"These matches present a terrific opportunity to continue building on the nucleus of our team, and at the same time evaluate more of the player pool against very good opponents," said Bradley.

And that includes veteran and MLS top scorer Jeff Cunningham, as well as Eddie "last chance?" Johnson.

Squad:

Goalkeepers - Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)

defenders - Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

midfielders - Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

forwards - Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

College scoreboard
*The Cal State Dominguez Hills men are still in the hunt for a second consecutive national title; the women's season is not over (see Tuesday's post for updated tournament details). More here

*Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa led the UCLA men Sunday to a second straight Pac-10 title. More here

*The UCLA women beat Washington State 2-0 Sunday in its regular season finale. The Bruins won 16 of their last 17 games to move to 17-2-1, 8-1 Pac-10). The 64-team bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be announced at 5 p.m. today on ESPNews.

*The Loyola Marymount men (9-8-1, 4-5-1 WCC) beat Portland 1-0 Sunday in its home finale.

*The Loyola Marymount women (11-6-2, 3-3-1 WCC) beat Saint Mary's 4-1 Saturday.

*The Cal State Northridge men (10-7-2, 5-4-1 BWC) beat UC Irvine 3-0 Saturday to clinch the fourth seed in the Big West tournament and have a daunting trip to Santa Barbara Wednesday againt top-ranked UC Santa Barabara.

*Pepperdine (11-7-1 3-3-1 WCC).beat San Francisco 2-1 Saturday.

*In Seattle Sunday, it was USC 2 University of Washington 2. The Trojans move to 12-6-2, 4-3-2 Pac-10.

And if that's what you came here for, scroll down.

With just over 24 hours to go until the Galaxy-Chivas USA Western Conference semifinal second leg (4:30 p.m. Sunday ESPN2) and the teams deadlocked at 2-2 halfway through what is essentially a 180 minute game (although, of course, it could go longer) here's press box colleague Luis Bueno on the pressure on Chivas USA.

Ives Galarcep reaches a similar conclusion here.

Oh, and happy birthday to Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein (who turns 25 today).

Friday's women's college games
Washington 1 UCLA 2

Friday's men's college games
UCLA 1 Oregon 1

Loyola Marymount 2 Gonzaga 1

Cal State Dominguez Hills 2 Cal State San Bernardino 1

Washington State 0 USC 0

And finally, they throw you out of the soccer bloggers club if you don't post this video. If you're one of the three people in the country who have yet to see this check it out:

For perspective, here's the view of Los Angeles feminist soccer blogger Jennifer Doyle.

Two days until the Galaxy-Chivas USA Western Conference semifinal from Carson's Home Depot Center (4:30 p.m. ESPN2) and the Galaxy blog reports tickets are going fast and the club is considering opening up the grass berm.

Don't have yours yet? Click here.

Suggested reading/listening/viewing:
*Reporter Phil Collin has more on the game here.

*The Galaxy's Chris Birchall, a mid-season signing, is fast becoming a regular on the starting XI. Did he expect that?

*Former Chicago Fire player Jared Montz talks to Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch in a podcast on his blog.

*Can the Galaxy get a goal or two past the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year?

I'll have more on the game Saturday.

Plenty of other soccer to watch this weekend on TV (click to the right for a full listing).

Saturday's games
6:54 a.m. ESPN2 Tottenham Hotspur-Sunderland
7 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel Aston Villa-Bolton Wanderers
9:30 a.m. FSC Wolverhampton Wanderers-Arsenal
12:45 p.m. ESPND Athletico Madrid-Real Madrid
5:30 p.m. FSC Chicago Fire-New England Revolution
7 p.m. KVEA Atlas-CD Guadalajara

Sunday's games
6 a.m. FSC Lazio-AC Milan
8 a.m. FSC Chelsea-Manchester United
11:30 a.m. FSC Inter Milan-Roma
Noon TeleFutura Houston Dynamo-Seattle Sounders
2 p.m. KMEX Club America-Monterrey

In local college action:
*Cal State Dominguez Hills (stars and all) is in action today.

*But the season is over for the Cal State Northridge women's team after dropping a 2-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara Thursday. Still, the Matadors finish the year with a 10-10 overall mark and a 6-2 league record that's tied for the best conference result in school history.

*The Matador men end the regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday at UC Irvine. Cal State Northridge (9-7-2, 4-4-1, BWC) won 1-0 Wednesday at home against Cal State Fullerton in OT, keeping their playoff aspirations alive going into Saturday's game. From the Matadors press release:

A Northridge victory will give the team enough points to clinch the fourth spot while an Anteater victory will bump Cal Poly from their current position as the second seed and drop them to third place in the standings, giving Irvine an opportunity to host a first-round game.

*The UCLA men UCLA (9-3-2, 4-1-2 Pac-10) return home for a three-game homestand to close the regular season. First up is a 7 o'clock game tonight against Oregon State at Drake Stadium. At 1 p.m. Sunday the Bruins face Washington at Drake Stadium in a game that is free for all veterans and active military personnel (who receive four free admissions with proper ID). In addition, Sunday is AYSO/Youth Soccer Day. Youth soccer team members and their coaches will be admitted free if they're wearing their team jerseys. Moreover, UCLA Alumni Association card holders will receive four free admissions with alumni association card. Team posters will be given away Friday, team photo cards Sunday.

*The Loyola Marymount men (7-8-1, 2-5-1 WCC) close out their season this weekend with games at 2:30 p.m. today against Gonzaga and 2 p.m. Sunday against Portland at Sullivan Field.

Enjoy the weekend.

Briefly:

*Don't forget, the second MLS playoff game between the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake is scheduled for 5 o'clock today on ESPN2.

*The Cal State Northridge men closed in on a post-season berth Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton with the goal coming in the sixth minute of OT and now hold the tiebreaker over the Titans going into the final game of the regular season Saturday against UC Irvine.

*Riverside's Chad Marshall was named MLS Defender of the Year today (for the second straight year), while referee Alex Prus took the award for MLS officials. The Crew defender is a worthy choice, but I can't help wondering if MLS would benefit from officials like this one:

Well, OK, maybe not.

Soccer on TV this weekend kicks off with a broadcast of the USC-UCLA women's game at 7 o'clock tonight on Fox Soccer Channel (and delayed at 8:30 p.m. on Prime) in a meeting of two top 20-ranked teams.

Here are some other highlights of the weekend's televised games (for a complete list click the link at top right) followed by the local college action you can see live.

Saturday's games

5:30 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel Arsenal-Tottenham Hotspur
8 a.m. FSC Bolton Wanderers-Chelsea
10:30 a.m. FSC Manchester United-Blackburn Rovers
Noon GolTV Barcelona-Osasuna
12:30 p.m. FSC AC Milan-Parma

Sunday's games

6 a.m. FSC Livorno-Inter Milan
6:48 a.m. ESPNU U.S.-United Arab Emirates (U-17 WC)
8 a.m. FSC Birmingham City-Manchester City
11 a.m. FSC New England Revolution-Chicago Fire
2 p.m. ESPN2 Chivas USA-Galaxy
3 p.m. KMEX Club America-Jaguares

Women's college games

3 p.m. today Sullivan Field LMU (9-6-2, 1-3-1 WCC) vs. San Francisco (6-4-5, 1-3-0 WCC)
1 p.m. Sunday Matador Field Cal State Northridge (9-9, 5-2 BWC) vs. Long Beach State (5-10-3, 1-5-1 BWC)

Briefly:

*The MLS playoffs begin tonight and Seattle Sounders fans will demonstrate the right way to support a team - by going freaking nuts in the stands. Hope Galaxy and Chivas USA fans are taking note. The Dynamo-Sounders game is on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. Game preview here.

*Incidentally, the U.S. is playing Malawi at the U-17 World Cup live on ESPNU right now. It's 0-0 at the half. You can also follow along on Matchtracker. Updated: The U.S. win 1-0 on an Alex Shinsky goal

*The U.S. women are in Germany for a sold out friendly that starts at 10 a.m. The Sol's Brittany Bock is a doubt because of a knock. Sounds like her participation is a game time decision.

*Belated congratulations to former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan who saved four penalties (!) deputizing for regular starter Brad Friedel for Aston Villa the other night. More here.

Finally, the Cal State Northridge men (7-7-2, 2-4-1 BWC) lost 2-0 to UC Santa Barbara Wednesday. Next: hosting UC Riverside at 3 p.m. Saturday at Matador Field. Take along three cans of food as a contribution to the food drive being held and you'll get in free.