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I don't know about you, but the weekend can't quick enough for me after the less than cheery news this week about what one newsroom wit described as our 301.K plans.

And there's plenty of soccer on TV and live locally to distract us.

I'll be back with a Chivas USA preview Saturday and a Galaxy one Sunday, but the bottom line is although the 1-1 draw last night between Real Salt Lake and the Red Bulls did little to clarify the playoff picture Chivas USA can still qualify for the playoffs while the Galaxy can put themselves (and us) out of their misery and be eliminated from the post-season.

Oh, and the U.S. can make the next round of WCQ by defeating Cuba Saturday.

For now here's your basic list of games just so you don't forget to set up the TiVo.

World Cup qualifying games on TV Saturday include:
9 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel England-Kazakhstan
11:30 a.m. FSC Spain-Estonia
4 p.m. ESPN Classic Cuba-U.S.
5 p.m. KVEA Mexico-Jamaica

MLS games on TV this weekend include:
5:30 p.m. Saturday FSC Toronto FC-FC Dallas
7 p.m. Saturday KAZA Chivas USA-San Jose Earthquakes (or delayed at 9:30 p.m. on FSN)
Noon Sunday KFTR Columbus Crew-Chicago Fire
9 p.m. Sunday Prime (delayed) Galaxy-Colorado Rapids

Mexican league games on TV include:
3 p.m. Saturday KMEX CD Guadalajara-San Luis
5 p.m. Saturday KAZA Santos Laguna-Pachuca
2 p.m. Sunday KMEX Puebla-Club America

Local college games this weekend include:
3 p.m. today at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 16 Washington
1 p.m. Sunday at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 25 Washington State
7 tonight at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington State
1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington
4 p.m. today at Sullivan Field LMU men-Portland
2 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Field LMU men-Gonzaga
1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Field LMU-Pepperdine

This is an excellent SI article that while not specifically about MLS (in fact the article doesn't even mention soccer) has resonance for Galaxy fans.

This season especially has seen many of these, um, symptoms appear in Carson.

Beatlemania like screams every time David Beckham touches the ball. Flash bulbs exploding around Home Depot Center like so many LSD flashbacks. And generally uneducated fans who don't appear to appreciate they are watching a godawful team.

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane once complained about the lack of atmosphere at Old Trafford caused by a surfeit of the prawn sandwich eating crowd - read ignorant corporate types - sitting on their hands rather than supporting their team.

I don't mind rich guys subsidizing the masses (thanks Uncle Phil). I just don't want them taking over to the extent a sporting event becomes like a night at the opera. (It's depressing when fans tell me the nitwits behind them complain about them standing up - after a Galaxy goal has been scored!).

Of course, the Galaxy has been so abysmal this season there's been precious little to shout about, although the likes of the Riot Squad are doing their utmost (thanks guys).

But in the main it's a stadium full of people so thrilled to watch a global superduper star like Becks they can't see beyond to the quality of football on display. Which has, generally speaking, been crap.

Nevertheless, the Galaxy have increased their ticket prices each year despite missing the playoffs three years in a row (there's a prediction in there).

Season ticket holders reportedly dropped 15 percent this season. And are likely to fall again in the coming one. I'm getting more and more anecdotal reports via e-mail, on this blog and in person of fans who say to me: "I can't bring myself to watch this lot anymore. It's a waste of money."

That's telling me the knowledgeable fans who understand the game know what product they are seeing: a bland corporate one unlikely to get the most ardent soccer fans to return. They'll sit home and watch Stoke City play Hull City (no disrespect to Hull, unexpectedly lighting up the EPL this season so far) rather than support MLS.

The game is being undermined by the suits.That's not what the sport is about. The casual fan - such as families - who understand the democracy of soccer are endangered.

And if that's the case, so is the authenticity of the game itself.

Two to talk about.

The three finalists for Honda Player of the Year (given to the best player for the U.S. MNT) are last year's winner Landon Donovan, (who this year became the U.S. all-time leading goalscorer with 36 goals); 2006 winner Clint Dempsey (who has four World Cup qualifying goals so far); and goalkeeper Tim Howard (with five shutouts so far in qualifying).

That's the same three I picked and again my vote went to LD.

Yes, I know Howard has looked a mountain of strength and reliability (with some great saves thrown in for good measure) behind a sometimes shaky defense.

Yes, I know Dempsey has been crucial because gawd knows Eddie Johnson (and others) have fired mainly blanks.

But without Donovan the U.S. just doesn't go. Period. He's the creative force, the attacking fulcrum, who is unafraid to run at defenders unlike so many American players.

It's why Klinsey wants him at Bayern Munich in January (assuming he lasts that long in what is turning out to be a bad season already).

Yeah, he's worth a record fifth award.

The winner will be announced Nov. 11 in downtown L.A.

Donovan haters: feel free to rip away.

The other award is for the top 11 players (and one coach) for the NCAA 50th anniversary team. Voting began Monday and runs until Oct. 15.

Among the finalists: Former Bruins Paul Caligiuri, Brad Friedel and Sigi Schmid and current Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

Vote here.

The new Women's Professional Soccer league conducted its third draft Monday, this one for American players not allocated when U.S. Women's National Team players were divvied up or international players not previously allocated.

Here are the complete draft results.

The as yet unnamed L.A. franchise (its nick name and colors will be announced later this month) chose Canadian National Team goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, defender Kendall Fletcher, U.S. Women's National Team forward Christie Welsh and former Pac-10 Player of the Year Manya Makoski.

They join such players as Marta, Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, Aly Wagner, Japanese midfielder Aya Miyama and and Chinese striker Han Duan who were allocated previously.

"The goal was to have a team that could keep the ball, play a poss style, but have a little bit of flair to them and I feel we've definitely gone in the right direction," said Coach Abner Rogers.

Also today, the WPS announced a broadcast agreement with Fox Soccer Channel that covers 20 regular-season games and the all-star game, as well as the two semifinals and the final on Fox Sports Net.

I'll have more on the WPS and the L.A. team in Tuesday's column, which I had better get on with writing.

A couple of quick notes:
*David Beckham may be out of form for the Galaxy, but he was still picked for England's next two World Cup qualifiers. Consequently, he'll miss Sunday's Galaxy game against Colorado.

*Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas was also called up by Jamaica for WCQ.

In Sunday's college games it was:
UCLA men 3 (2-3-5) SDSU 3 (2-5-1)
UCLA women 3 SDSU 0
USC 2 (10-1) Cal State Northridge 1 (5-5-1)
CSUDH men 1 (11-1-1) Sonoma State 0
CSUDH women 6 (8-5) Sonoma State 2
LMU women 0 (5-4-3) San Diego State 0 (4-6-2)
St. Mary's 2 (2-6-1) LMU men 1 (2-3-4)
Cal State Northridge men 1 (5-4-1) UC Riverside 0

Finally, Cal State Dominguez Hills junior defender Kevin Gallaugher was named the Brine California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer Player of the Week after the Toros posted a pair of shutouts over the weekend, limiting opponents to a combined seven shots on target.

The Galaxy were blacked out:

Chivas USA weren't:

Chivas USA lineup: Dan Kennedy, Alex Zotinca, Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas, Francisco Mendoza (Jonathan Bornstein 54), Jesse Marsch, Sasha Victorine, Atiba Harris, Sacha Kljestan (Justin Braun 82), Alecko Eskandarian, Dejair (Jorge Flores 75),

Two teams, two games, same broadcast time.

MLS' two highest-scoring teams clash when L.A. play in Columbus at 4:30 p.m. live on Prime where the crowd are encouraged to wear black and "black out the Galaxy," (who are quite capable of doing that themselves, thank you) while at the same time on Fox Soccer Channel Chivas USA take on D.C. United before what will be the one of the home team's largest crowds of the season. Of course, the Crew's defense is just a tad better than the Galaxy's. Columbus is unbeaten in their last seven games.

The basics on both games are here.

Excellent update on Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers - increasingly impressive for the Crew this season - is here, while David Beckham gets the contrary treatment from an English newspaper that eloquently makes a brutal point - Becks is playing like crap.

How much does Crew Coach Sigi Schmid want to deliver the knockout blow to the Galaxy's season? Can you say Supporter's Shield?

You've got to figure Chivas USA has much more of a chance against United who are without Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio.

Saturday's college scores:
No. 4 UCLA 1 (8-0-2) Pepperdine 0 (4-6-2).
It was the Bruins' ninth straight shutout; Lauren Cheney got the goal.

Loyola Marymount women 1 Cal State Northridge 0 (5-4-1).
Lily Sorentino scored the winner in the 90trh minute.

Cal State Dominguez Hills women 2 (7-5) Humboldt State 0
CSUDH wins its third consecutive game to move atop the CCAA South standings.

Cal State Dominguez Hills men 2 (10-1-1) Humboldt State 0
No. 14 CSUDH outshot Humboldt 29-6

Finally, LMU junior goalkeeper Patrick Sampson (Lake Oswego, Ore.) became just the second player from the program to win the West Coast Conference's Player of the Month award. His accomplishments included a pair of shutouts against ranked opponents and a conference-low goals-against-average of 0.45 while allowing just two goals and making 24 saves over 400 minutes.

A few soccer nuggets to get your day started:
*There's a crucial game in the tight Western Conference tonight when MLS Player of the Month Darren Huckerby and the San Jose Earthquakes face Kenny Cooper (second in scoring in MLS) and Dallas at 6 tonight on ESPN2 in a game both the Galaxy and Chivas USA will watch closely.

The suddenly hot Earthquakes (one loss in their last 10 games) are tied with the Galaxy for last place with 29 points; Dallas (which has two consecutive wins) has 33 points, three behind Chivas USA.

Both Carson-based teams are on the road Saturday: the Galaxy are in Columbus facing Sigi Schmid and the MLS-leading Crew; Chivas USA are in D.C. playing United, which lost yet again in the CONCACAF Champions League Wednesday 1-0 against Cruz Azul while resting most of their regulars.

Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas, goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and former DC United forward Alecko Eskandarian preview Saturday's game below:

David Beckham blogs here.

*The third (!) Women's Professional Soccer draft is set for Monday.

L.A. picks fifth, 10th, 12th and 19th in the four-round draft.

*Finally, in college games Wednesday night it was:
UCLA men 2 (2-3-4) UCSB 2 (5-3-1)
No. 5 Creighton 1 (7-1-0) Cal State Northridge men 0 (4-4-1)

Two team's, one season, different directions.

Passion, guts, determination - Chivas USA have embraced those qualities, the Galaxy have not. For the most part, that's the difference between the two franchises this season.

Reading between the lines, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena appears to agree:

"This is not a project were looking at in the short term, but building this team up over the next couple of years and getting the right kind of characters on the field and by that I mean in terms of their personalities, their competitiveness and their ability. We've got to get the right balance and the right combination of players. Obviously, this year we're going to evaluate what we have and how we can make it better."

Here's Arena on one of the team's major weaknesses that surfaced yet again in Chicago:

"Between (central defenders) Sean (Franklin) and Troy (Roberts) and our goalkeeper (Josh Wicks) in that game ... I bet there's not 50 league starts in there in those three positions - right down the heart of your team and that's obviously an issue."

Storm clouds were (literally) gathering as the Galaxy practice ended Monday at Home Depot Center, the suffocating miasma of the sticky air seemingly reflecting the deepening gloom engulfing the team.

Veteran Pete Vagenas, usually one of the friendliest and most accommodating Galaxy players, walked off the field, his gaze locked at the ground straight ahead in a clear sign he was in no mood to talk.

Landon Donovan hobbled by, a leg encased in ice, a metaphor for a cold, stark season seemingly staggering to an inevitable conclusion.

I was there to gauge the mood of the team after another dispiriting loss last week to the Chicago Fire - and it wasn't difficult to discern:

"We're a little bothered, frustrated by our last game," said rookie defender Sean Franklin, out of Cal State Northridge. "We've got four games left. I'm pretty sure we've got to win out or at least get three of the four. We've got to come up with a better mentality this weekend in Columbus."

Franklin acknowledged the Galaxy just keep making the same old errors:

"We talked about how we had to step up to the midfielders and not give them a lot of space because they will shoot. They got space, (Rolfe) dribbled and exactly what we didn't want to happen, happened. ... We need to do a better job communicating."

Coach Bruce Arena agreed:

"In general I don't think we played well," he said. "We're too inconsistent. Our defending as a group isn't good enough. We have some major holes open in our defense and that's not attributed only to defenders, it's attributed to the entire group."

I'll have more from Arena on the Galaxy's psyche in Tuesday's column and whether he can bailout the Galaxy any better than Congress could the banks today.

A couple of notes from training:
*Goalkeeper Steve Cronin practiced today for the second time since his injury.
*Defender Eduardo Dominguez was also back practicing with the team for the first time since making a flying visit to Argentina where at 12:52 p.m. Sept. 15 his wife gave birth to the couple's first child - a son. Mateo Dominguez weighed in at about 6 pounds 6 ounces.
*Angels outfielder Juan Riviera was at practice today and had his picture taken with Donovan.
*The Galaxy reserves (1-5-2) lost 2-1 to their Chivas USA (2-3-3) counterparts Sunday, Maykel Galindo getting the winning goal in a come-from-behind victory in the 81st minute. Izzy Sesay, 18, scored the Galaxy's opener from a Pete Vagenas cross. Newly-acquired Chivas USA midfielder Dejair assisted on Keith Savage's equalizer.

Chivas USA reserves lineup: Lance Parker, Eric Ebert, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling (Keith Savage 46), Gerson Mayen, Kraig Chiles, Daniel Paladini, Dejair Ferreira (Ian Etherington 66), Jorge Flores, Anthony Hamilton (Maykel Galindo 60), Roberto Nurse.
Galaxy reserves lineup: Josh Saunders, Joe Franchino (Ely Allen 46), Julian Valentin, Scott Bolkan, Vardan Adzemian, Mike Randolph, Peter Vagenas (Alvaro Pires 46), Brandon McDonald, Josh Tudela (Mike Muñoz 59), Bryan Jordan, Israel Sesay.

Sunday college scores:
UCLA men 2 (2-3-3) Cal State Northridge 2 (4-3-1)
LMU men 1 (1-2-4) Oregon State 1 (3-4-2)
Cal State Dominguez Hills men 3 (9-1-1) Cal Poly Pomona 1 (3-6)

Arizona State 1 (6-2-3) Long Beach State 0 (6-3-2).
UC Irvine 2 (6-5) Pepperdine 1 (4-5-2)
Cal State Northridge 1 (6-3) San Francisco 1 (4-5-2)
Cal State Dominguez Hills 1 (6-5) Cal Poly Pomona 0

Just not good enough is the verdict.

An unspectacular David Beckham. A sublime Blanco move. A goalkeeper and others - Sean Franklin is not the MLS MVP folks - that are just not good enough. Did I say that already?

At this stage of the season it's not worth doing tactical analysis. The season (again) has pretty much passed the Galaxy by.

Game story.

Box score basics.

YouTube highlights:

Apologies: the blogging software has been down for hours, only just came back up and I have other things to do.

So very briefly:
*The Galaxy play another must-win game against Chicago at 6 tonight on ESPN2.

*Former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan played - and lost - his first game with Aston Villa Wednesday night.

*The Cal State Dominguez Hills men are eyeing another championship.

Toros midfielder Scott Mariano started 14 games last year.

Photo by Scott Varley

A smattering of Galaxy related reads for your perusal:

*Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney looks at Landon Donovan's MLS MVP chances. (On track for a career-best season, Donovan is doing his best to impress so he can jump ship to Bayern Munich, Europe in general or really anywhere as long as he flees the increasingly erratic Galaxy).

*Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl checks in with the latest scheme being concocted by Galaxy power broker Tim Leiweke. (Leiweke's latest contention that the Galaxy are actually being harmed because of the designated player rule has a kernel of truth, but good luck selling this to the rest of MLS long since convinced L.A. receive preferential treatment).

*Variety reveals the television empire building plans of Galaxy owner Anschutz Entertainment Group. (Televised reserve team games anyone?).

*Finally, I keep forgetting to blog this, but if you've always wanted to know whether Alan Gordon can hit a really little hole better than a yawning big one (and you have $500 you didn't put in WaMu stock burning a hole in your pocket) you might want to sign up for the annual Galaxy Day on the Links.

From the (edited) Galaxy press release:

The LA Galaxy Foundation will host their annual Day on the Links golf tournament on Monday, October 20 at Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms Resort in Industry Hills, Calif. LA Galaxy players, coaching staff and TV personalities will tee off at 11 a.m. on the Eisenhower Course, with on-course contests and prizes, a post-tournament awards dinner, raffle and silent auction adding to the festivities. Foursomes and individual spots start at just $500.

The event's proceeds will benefit the LA Galaxy Foundation's outreach programs, including Kicks for Kids, Camps for Kids, a new Reading Garden built with the Home Depot Charitable Foundation, the annual Foundations' Feast and the Holiday Assist Program.

To register for "Day on the Links," go here, call Gloria King at 310-630-2222 or e-mail gking@lagalaxy.com.

Spent the day columnizing for Tuesday's newspaper about the most popular national team in Southern California - Mexico - which plays an 8 p.m. Wednesday exhibition at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum against Chile.

Fans who want to get an autograph or two from Mexican National Team stars should show up at the adidas Sports Performance store Tuesday on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Tecos goalkeeper Jesús Corona, Pachuca's Fausto Pinto and Jaime Correa, Toluca's Antonio Naelson and Monterrey's Luis Pérez will be on hand for the hour-long autograph session that begins at 11 a.m. Fans can win match tickets and gift cards.

In other news, Landon Donovan was named MLS Player of the Week Monday (surprise!) after his dominating three-goal performance in the 5-2 win over on the weekend over D.C. United. The award is the ninth of Donovan's MLS career, tying him with Jeff Cunningham, retired Galaxy great Cobi Jones and Chivas USA's Ante Razov for the most in MLS history.

Donovan, who leads the league in goal scoring, now has 19 goals and will inevitably become the third player in Galaxy history to score 20 or more goals in a season. Carlos Ruiz got 24 goals in 2002 and Eduardo Hurtado slammed home 21 goals in 1996. The Galaxy have reached the MLS Cup in each of the previous seasons in which they had a 20 goal scorer. Oh great, helluva time to break the string, huh?

How prolific is Donovan? This from MLS:

"For just the second time in MLS history, a player has reached the 19-goal mark in 20 games. Landon Donovan did it Saturday with his hat trick against D.C. United. The only other player to score at that pace through 20 games was Trinidadian Stern John, who did it with the Columbus Crew in 1998 en route to 26 goals in 27 games.

John's 1998 campaign is still the best scoring rate during a single season at 0.96 goals per game. Donovan could break that record this season."

The chart:
Highest Single-Season Scoring Rates in MLS History:

Yr. Player Team GP Goals AVG
1998 Stern John CLB 27 26 0.96
2008 Landon Donovan LA 20 19 0.95
2000 Mamadou Diallo TB 28 26 0.93
2002 Carlos Ruiz LA 26 24 0.92
1996 Roy Lassiter TB 30 27 0.90

Oh, and Donovan was saying all the right things over the weekend in encouraging Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern Munich to come in for him after the season. Contrary to at least one report, however, the German giants have not tendered any sort of offer for Donovan.

BTW, David Beckham and Alan Gordon have joined Landon Donovan and Greg Vanney on official warning from MLS, meaning that they will receive a mandatory one-game suspension if they receive one more yellow card. Next for the Galaxy: the Fire Thursday in Chicago on ESPN2.

In college soccer, Loyola Marymount University junior goalkeeper Patrick Simpson was named West Coast Conference Player of the week for the second time this season. That's the first time an LMU player has won the honor in a season since former Chivas USA player Arturo Torres did it three times in 2000. Simpson came within seven minutes of pitching two shutouts against #9 Northwestern and #11 Illinois-Chicago over the weekend.

Serious bloggers actually blog immediately after the game.

The rest of us go to Oktoberfest.

Game story from a Galaxy perspective.

The United view.

By the way, David Beckham had yet another sub-par game complete with errant passes, petulant behavior and little creativity. Yet Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena, perhaps playing politics, praised his performance as "excellent," while Becks himself simply conceded it was "all right."
"I'm sure I've played better," he said. "I've definitely played worse."

Best line of the night goes to Bruce Arena as he left the post-game conference, leaving David Beckham to face the media. "Monday!" said Bruce brightly of the next practice day, which players usually have off. "Yes, Monday," said Becks, considerably less enchanted with the idea.

Quotable:
Pete Vagenas on the early goal:

"I was ready to walk out the stadium when they scored off the corner kick to be honest with you. I can't tell you how many times we went over set pieces this week."

United Coach Tom Soehn on the outcome:

"We got careless. I'm not sure if the early goal caused that. We turned over the ball in some really bad spots. Guys like Landon, you can't afford to leave them unmarked."

On the officiating:

"The officiating crew had a bad night. ... The red card? The whole Galaxy staff looked at me - it was just a soft card."

On the season:

"I won't lie - it's been a tough season. As we look to get guys back it's going to take a little bit of time to find our rhythm. ... Some of the mistakes we're making are real basic."

On the Swiss cheese-like United defense:

"Landon did a good job of finding the holes and we didn't account for them. ... They moved the ball around well and exposed some of our weaknesses."

Arena on the early goals in each half:

"The way we came out in the second half - we gave up another goal. These are bad habits. These are things we have to get better at - concentration has to improve."

On the difference between the desultory performance last weekend in Kansas City and tonight:

"I accept the responsibility for Kansas City - because I put Landon and David in an unfavorable position. They had a lot of games, travel and I put at least two tired players on the field. My job as the coach here is to position players to be successful and I didn't do David any favors in Kansas City nor did I do Landon any favors. ... If I had to redo it, I'd probably do things differently on that day."

On the officiating:

"What can I say? At this point we're not willing to give back the three points. We needed three points tonight so we're going to take them anyway we can get them."

Beckham on the end of the winless streak:

"To go so many games without a win - I've never done that before - and I'm sure many of the other players have not done that before."

Ante Jazic on the D.C. defense: "They reminded me of our defense early on in the season."

On the difference Arena has made:

"If anyone knows soccer, they can see we're more organized, more compact, especially the back line. ... Before we were a little bit of a make-shift team. But now we're playing as a unit."

Landon Donovan on the season so far:

"Before the season started my goals were to lead the league in scoring and be the league MVP and I got a lot closer to both those tonight, which is good."

The Galaxy snapped their 12-game winless streak in some style, dissecting a defense that had more holes than their own for a 5-2 win capped by a Pete Vagenas (!) volley in the 81st minute.

Donovan scored his third and the Galaxy's fifth in second half stoppage time although he appeared more than a tad offside.

D.C. played with 10 men for the final half hour, after Marc Burch stupidly received a straight red for hacking David Beckham's ankle with the ball already out of play It wasn't a particularly nasty challenge and it appeared even Beckham thought a straight red was overly harsh and he appeared to have more than few words with the assistant referee.

Before Vegenas' late goal - created by Donovan who held the play up while awaiting Vagenas' arrival - the Galaxy had led by just one goal after South African striker Thabiso Boyzzz scored his first MLS goal three minutes after the break.

It was the third time the Galaxy had scored five goals all season.

The first win for Bruce Arena hauled the Galaxy off the Western Conference basement and into a tie with San Jose for fifth place.

Back with more from the locker rooms later.

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