Wednesday's Telly

11:30 a.m. ESPN2 Manchester United-Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Final.

4:30 p.m. Direct Kick Toronto FC-D.C. United.

Bradley's Boys

goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United); midfielders Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Lewis (Derby County); forwards Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Josh Wolff (Out of Contract).

And here's the England squad:

David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Chris Kirkland (Wigan); Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough); Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa); forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

Galaxy Gossip

Tidbits on a date with the knife for Gullit, Galaxy UEFA Champions League final picks (c'mon, name names) here.

Under-20 Galaxy Rios forward Tristan Bowen has been named the to the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team for the upcoming Lisbon International Tournament, where the U.S. will take on Norway on May 21, Portugal on May 22 and Sweden on May 24. The team plays at the HDC Saturday in the season opener.

Also named: defender Jose Diaz (Chivas USA Academy) and midfielder Mike Roman (Real So Cal).

Foxy Programming

That includes the F.A. Cup as well as the final, finally back on free TV in the U.S.

Other games include the Community Shield and England internationals.

FSC also snared rights to the CONCACAF Champions League, for four seasons beginning in 2008/2009. FSC airs 56 games this year.

Posted by Nick Green at 2:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I caught up with former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid in today's column.

Is a Crew-Galaxy MLS final in Carson possible, perhaps?

Posted by Nick Green at 5:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spent the day working on Tuesday's column about former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid (see next post), but noted these items in passing:

The Galaxy's Edson Buddle, 27, he of the mazy run around/through four Dallas defenders and hat trick was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters. Buddle has 57 career MLS goals.

An alternate view: Anaheim's Jorge Flores get a shout-out from the most comprehensive soccer blog around - DuNord - for his performance this weekend.

Details of the Beckham incident Sunday: Beckham received a yellow card in the 76th minute after he got into a shoving match with Adrian Serioux and Arturo Alvarez of FC Dallas (2-3-3). Serioux, who brought Beckham down with a slide tackle, was given a red card and ejected.

"It was a terrible tackle. I could have broken my leg," Beckham said. "It's not my decision to give out cards. The player [Serioux] was saying, 'Welcome, baby, welcome,' afterward."

It was Beckham's second yellow card in two Texas appearances.

Or as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram put it:

In an effort to avert any misunderstanding in the British Parliament, Serioux hails from Canada. We colonists know Beckham is a museum piece.

And former Chivas USA-UCLA striker Matt Taylor keeps popping up.

From a U.S. Soccer press release:

U.S. Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage will bring 27 players to a two-week training camp at Home Depot Center in Carson starting today.

At the end of the camp, Sundhage will choose a 20-player roster to compete in the 2008 Peace Queen Cup in South Korea, where the U.S. will play Australia (June 15), Brazil (June 17) and Italy (June 19).

Two players currently recovering from minor surgery - goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart (knee) and captain Christie Rampone (gall bladder) - will join the camp should they be fit enough to participate. Defender Keeley Dowling and midfielder Angie Woznuk return to camp after missing action while recovering from back injuries.

With Barnhart sidelined, Sundhage has called in 2004 Olympic gold medalist Kristin Luckenbill to join Hope Solo and Briana Scurry in the U.S. net.

Sundhage has also called in one player who has yet to see training camp action, giving a look to uncapped defender Kendall Fletcher, a former UNC star and veteran of the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team.

Defender Ali Krieger, who is currently playing for FFC Frankfurt, the top women's club in Germany and one of the best in Europe, will join camp on May 25 after she is released from club duty.

The roster: goalkeepers Kristin Luckenbill (Paoli, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.); defenders Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Kendall Fletcher (Cary, N.C.), Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.); midfielders Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), Kacey White (Arlington, Texas), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.); forwards Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Finally, (indulge me) Norwich City fans everywhere are glad to see Darren Huckerby hyped as a possible MLS signing by former Canaries striker Ted MacDougall.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just when it was least expected, the Galaxy put on one of the most devastating offensive performances in recent club history, demolishing FC Dallas by a four goal margin in a 5-1 victory Sunday that included an Edson Buddle hat trick.

It was the sort of game that sent you rushing to the record book:
*This was the Galaxy's biggest MLS victory since a a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay in August 2001.

*This was the first road Galaxy 5-1 MLS victory since a Aug. 5, 2000 win over the Wizards.

*Chris Klein made the 93rd consecutive start of his MLS career, tying him with ex-Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Peninsula High) for the most consecutive starts in MLS history.

*Buddle's hat trick was the 14th in Galaxy history and the second this season.

*This was the first time Dallas surrendered five goals in a regular season game since a 5-2 loss at Los Angeles in the last game of the 2006 season. The five goals were the most Dallas has ever surrendered at Pizza Hut Park in a regular season game.

*Today's attendance of 22,331, was the largest regular season crowd for a Dallas game at Pizza Hut Park.

The win propelled the Galaxy up the standings.

Meanwhile, the W-League Pali Blues won their first home game decisively Saturday.

The W-League Ventura County Fusion won, but the PDL men lost.

The W-League standings.

Also In the PDL this weekend:
Lancaster Rattlers 0 Los Angeles Legends 5
Southern California Seahorses 1 Lancaster Rattlers 0
Orange County Blue Star 1 San Francisco Seals 1

The league table.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At noon in Dallas on Prime and Telefutura.

Game preview here.

And the crowd here.

Basics here.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After United's second half collapse, Coach Tom Soehn kept the locker room doors firmly closed for more than a half hour for the first time this season to conduct an internal postmortem.

When he finally did emerge, he looked grim, spoke tersely and softly and generally looked like an employee awaiting a pink slip anytime now.

"We're all held accountable players, coaches everybody," he said. "We gave away the ball too much. In the end we gave them a lot of confidence about how to put pressure on us."

"We threw caution to the wind after they scored, started taking chances and taking risks and they punished us."

So what did he say to his players in the locker room anyway?

Well, this was a common refrain from several players and Soehn:
"Games aren't won over 60 minutes, they're won over 90 minutes."

Jaime Moreno went with the simplest explanation: "We're making mistakes, very simple. That's what we've got to eliminate."

Putting Jesse Marsch back into midfield at the start of the second half was in part to give the defensive midfield more bit and in part to protect young Dan Paladini from picking up a second yellow, so he was pushed out wide right.

You sensed Preki was relieved to escape with this one: "I wasn't sure who I was going to play in the back."

Marsch sounded similarly relieved: "We needed a break. We got the break," he said. "I've been looking for something to rally around so hopefully this can be a turning point."

Oh, and Sueno was "very happy."

Game details here.

Here's how The Washington Post's Steven Goff saw the game

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two second half goals inside three minutes saved this game for Chivas USA - or in truth two incredibly poor D.C. United errors did.

This game wasn't half as good as the 3-1 scoreline suggest; it was one of those games your mother should have told you never to watch, between two frankly bad teams with a combined record of 3-9-2.

As banged up as Chivas USA is, D.C. was in worse shape.

The equalizer came in the 73rd minute, when substitute Jorge Flores beat Quavas Kirk to the ball, D.C goalkeeper Zach Wells made a hash of things and Jess Marsch redeemed himself with a goal.

Three minutes later, Atiba Harris skipped past Gonzalo Martinez along the sideline and crossed to Sacha Kljestan for what proved the winning goal.

Sueno scored the third eight minutes from time, too, with Wells guilty (again) of some very suspect goalkeeping.

It's the first time Chivas USA has ever - ever - come from behind to win a game and the first time they've ever beaten United.

The biggest question after this game: how long has D.C. Coach Tom Soehn got left?

Dressed in a black suit and crisp white shirt, one press box wit observed he looked like a mortician.

Appropriate, given that United's season already looks all but dead and buried.

Back with more from the locker room later.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It took Jesse Marsch half an hour to make an impression at sweeper.

A bad one.

Marsch was comprehensively beaten by Marcelo Gallardo just outside the top of the box, who put D.C. one up with a sweet move and shot.

Jaime Moreno almost added to his MLS goal total in first half stoppage time, sending a shot skimming over the bar that looked to have been redirected by Brad Guzan.

And that was largely it for on-field highlights.

Chivas USA finished the half without a shot on target; D.C. had a half dozen total, Chivas USA just one.

Razov had a goal disallowed for offside, by the way.

On a side note, Chivas USA has apparently found one way to fill the stands: invite really big high school bands to the game.

Legion 1908 is boycotting their second consecutive home game tonight.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wholesale changes for Chivas USA tonight, with all four of their regular starters in defense out, including Shavar Thomas and Claudio Suarez (both with hamstring problems).

Eric Ebert is dropped from the back line, although Bobby Burling retains his place in defense alongside Jim Curtin and veteran Jesse Marsch (now 10th on the all-time list of top flight games played in the U.S., according to the National Soccer Hall of Fame) assumes a sweeper role for the first time since he was age 13 in Racine, Wisc.

Daniel Paladini makes his first-ever start in midfield, along with Panchito Mendoza (listed as a defender, but he really isn't), Sacha Kljestan and Paulo Nagamura. Justin Braun presumably is playing as a withdrawn striker.

Up front Atiba Harris deputizes for the injured Maykel Galindo and partners Ante Razov.

On the bench is well, virtually no one of note, although Jorge "Sueno" Flores scored a goal and had an assist in two games the U.S. Under-20 team played recently in England.

D.C. United also makes several changes from the team that was shut out for a second consecutive game against the Chicago Fire in their last outing.

Zach Wells is in goal as usual, but Marc Burch moves to defense, Dominic Mediate replaces Gonzalo Peralta and Gonzalo Martinez also starts.

Two changes in midfield for D.C. United with Ryan Cordeiro and Marcelo Gallardo drafted in alongside Santino Quaranta andClyde Sims.

Jaime Moreno partners former New York Red Bull striker Francis Doe, making his first start with D.C., in attack.

Luciano Emilio is on the bench, as is former Galaxy midfielder Quavas Kirk.

The game is on Fox Soccer Channel.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former Galaxy Coach and South Bay boy Sigi Schmid continued his undefeated streak at the helm of the Columbus Crew today, drawing 0-0 against fast-improving Toronto FC

The league-leading Crew are now undefeated in six games, while Toronto's five-game unbeaten stretch establishes a new club record.

Great atmosphere and competent commentators on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp feed added to the EPL Lite feel (almost half of Toronto's lineup played in the U.K.).

Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers had a shot cleared off the line.

You can almost heart Sigi saying: "Goals change games."

By the way, assuming Sigi answers my e-mail, I'll have more on the Crew and Rogers in my Tuesday column.

Off to the Chivas USA game in a few minutes and you've got to wonder: are these two teams meant for each other?

From this morning's Washington Post:

Chivas USA, crippled by injuries to its back line and next to last in the Western Conference with a 1-4-2 record, might be the perfect opponent for an equally stressed team.

"We are as bad as they are," United midfielder-forward Santino Quaranta said. "They're struggling, and so are we."

Let's hope it's a half-decent game.

Lastly, a reminder the Galaxy PR folks sent out to me this morning: "I wanted to make sure that you know our game will also be on FSN Primeticket on Sunday with pregame show at 11:30am."

Nope, didn't. Thanks.

Posted by Nick Green at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Under normal circumstances, Chivas USA Coach Preki would be licking his lips at the prospect of playing a 2-5 D.C. United.

Not today.

The game is on Fox Soccer Channel at 7:30 p.m. or if you're going don't forget to pick up your Mickey Mouse ears at the gate (try writing that with a straight face).

What's the issue, Jaime Moreno?

"The reason is very simple - we're not playing well. We worked so hard through preseason and got to this point where at the end of the day, it's the players who play. The coaches can do so much. The players who step on the field have to do the job and unfortunately we haven't done our job."

Back later blogging from the game.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With a gorgeous weekend for watching if not playing soccer forecast, here's a preview of the options on tap locally this weekend.

Chivas USA plays D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center and live on Fox Soccer Channel, while the Galaxy is on the road in Dallas for a game that airs at noon Sunday on Telefutura.

It's a big day in England Saturday with the annual finale to the season, the F.A. Cup final. The game begins at 7 a.m. local time on pay-per-view and at your favorite English pub.

In live action, W-League expansion team Pali Blues plays its first-ever game in Pacific Palisades Saturday against the Los Angeles Legends.

In the Pacific Development League, the Lancaster Rattlers plays the Los Angeles Legends at 7:30 tonight at Cougar Stadium in Glendora.

Other PDL games this weekend include:
Ventura County Fusion at San Jose Frogs
Southern California Seahorses at Lancaster Rattlers at 7 p.m. at Pete Knight High.
Orange County Blue Star at San Francisco Seals

Have a great weekend. I'll blog from Carson as usual Saturday and be back later with a game preview.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew, Fontana's Maurice Edu of FC Toronto and Chivas USA's Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan were among a pool of 33 players U.S. Coach Bob Bradley has selected for consideration for three upcoming friendlies.

Rogers is one of five uncapped players included in the pool. Others looking for their first cap: San Luis Obispo's Chris Seitz, Orange's Michael Orozco, Modesto's Heath Pierce and goalkeepers Troy Perkins and Dominic Cervi.

DaMarcus Beasley returns to the squad after injury.

There is at least one surprise. Or as one colleague so eloquently put it when he saw the pool: (former Galaxy forward) "Nate frikkin Jaqua???"

Prominent names not included: Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, Bobby Convey (injured) and Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein of Los Alamitos, who suffered a serious knee injury last week.

Pool: goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United); midfielders Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids); forwards Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich).

The U.S., which is on a five-game unbeaten run, plays in England May 28, Spain June 4 and against Argentina in New Jersey June 8. The three games lead up to the June 15 opening World Cup qualifier against Barbados at Home Depot Center.

The 22-man roster for the England game will be announced next week.

Said Bradley: "With the challenging schedule of friendlies we have organized to prepare for World Cup qualifying, this is an excellent opportunity to continue to evaluate our player pool and at the same time balance the workload. Many of our players have just completed seasons in Europe, and the MLS schedule is in full swing, so it is important that we manage the time wisely to give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the important matches this summer."

Posted by Nick Green at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Damaged Goods

OUT - Charles Alamo (R-Knee Surgery)

DOUBTFUL - None

QUESTIONABLE - Ely Allen (R-Hamstring), Edson Buddle (R-Hamstring), Landon Donovan (R-Calf), Alvaro Pires (L-Knee), Carlos Ruiz (R-Knee Surgery), Peter Vagenas (R-Quad)

PROBABLE - Ante Jazic (R-Ankle Surgery)

Jazic played for the first time since December on Tuesday against Vancouver and will continue to train this week. All other injured players, with the exception of Alamo, are schedule to take part in portions of training this week in the lead up to the game against FC Dallas this weekend.

Meanwhile, Alamo continues on the second phase of his rehabilitation process

Barca Back

Barcelona played CD Guadalajara at the Coliseum in 2006, as part of a three-game U.S. tour, drawing 1-1 in front of 92,650.

Olympic Run-In

"It's always good to get great games before you go to the Olympics and what better team to play than Brazil," said U.S. midfielder Shannon Boxx of Torrance, who has started 12 of the 14 games the USA has played this year. "It's always an exciting game playing Brazil so these will be good tests to give us confidence heading into the Olympics. Obviously, we didn't do well against them in the World Cup so it will be beneficial for our team to play them a few times beforehand in case we do meet them in China."

UCLA Schedule

The Bruins will have nine games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Here are the home games at Drake Stadium:
Date Opponent
Aug. 29 Maryland
Aug. 31 UC Riverside
Sept. 12 Indiana
Sept. 20 Santa Clara
Sept. 28 Cal State Northridge
Oct. 1 UC Santa Barbara
Oct. 5 San Diego State*#
Oct. 17 Washington*
Oct. 19 Oregon State*
Oct. 31 California*#
Nov. 2 Stanford*#
Nov. 5 Cal Poly
* Pac-10 Conference game
# Doubleheader with UCLA women's soccer team

Posted by Nick Green at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CONCACAF made official today what was widely expected anyway, naming Chivas USA as one of four U.S. entries in the inaugural Champions League that kicks off this summer.

Chivas USA qualifies by virtue of owning the second highest points total during the MLS regular season.

That slot was originally allocated to the U.S. Open Cup champion (thereby making that neglected competition more meaningful), but winners the New England Revolution qualified anyway by being MLS Cup runners-up, allowing Chivas USA to move into that slot.

The other U.S. qualifiers are MLS champions the Houston Dynamo and D.C. United, who collected the most points during the regular season.

Chivas USA is one of 16 entrants (eight receive a bye in the preliminary stage) that will play home and away games Aug. 26-28 and Sept. 2-4 to qualify for the round robin final 16 stage played Sept. 16-Oct. 30.

Chivas USA will learn its first round opponent June 11 when the draw is conducted.

Also today, voting begins for the MLS All-Star game against West Ham United July 24 at the league Web site.

Robbie Rogers' exploits last weekend earned him a profile here.

Despite what the article says, Rogers grew up in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula as most readers of this blog know by now. We're not going to let Surf City claim him.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 in Edmonton Tuesday with David Beckham nursing a sore foot by game's end.

Great.

And where is Peter Vagenas?

A helluva less pointless game is Wednesday's Glasgow Rangers-Zenit St. Petersburg UEFA Cup Final.

Locally, there's a free viewing party for Rangers fans at downtown Torrance's best dive bar The Crest.

Kickoff is at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

Lastly, UCLA has signed U.S. youth international midfielder/forward Eder Arreola (Chino Hills/Edison Academic Center), forward Prince Lapnet (Silver Spring, Maryland) and defender Victor Yanez (Riverside/Patriot High) to national letters of intent

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For today's column I looked at the imploding Chivas USA defense and the potential consequences for their season.

Meanwhile, David Beckham and the Galaxy arrived in Edmonton Monday for tonight's extraneous game against the Whitecaps where more than 30,000 tickets have been sold.

Longtime injury victim Ante Jazic may return to action tonight for the Galaxy.

Landon Donovan will apparently be absent though, while Canadians are lamenting Beckham's likely non-appearance at the game against FC Toronto at month's end.

Incidentally, the game is televised beginning at 6 p.m. locally on Channel 22.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Coach Peter Nowak named three Galaxy players to an experimental U.S. Under-23 National Team squad for the upcoming Toulon Tournament.

"This tournament will give us an opportunity to have a look at some players we have had in previous camps, and also a look at the new faces," said Nowak. "We don't want to be short-sighted with our selection for the Olympics. We want a whole picture that includes a variety of players, and to make sure we see every option before we make final choices."

Selected were Mike Gavin, Bryan Jordan and Julian Valentin.

The U.S. plays Turkey May 21, Ivory Coast May 23 and Italy May 25.

All games are on Fox Soccer Channel.

The full squad: Goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), Quentin Westberg (Troyes AC); defenders Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Eric Brunner (out of contract), Kyle Davies (Southampton), Michael Gavin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Jonathan Leathers (Kansas City Wizards), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Julian Valentin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Rob Valentino (New England Revolution), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas) ; midfielders Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Greg Dalby (SC Charleroi), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Lee Nguyen (Randers FC); forwards Gabe Ferrari (Sampdoria), Bryan Jordan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ellis McLoughlin (Hertha Berlin), Sammy Ochoa (Tecos).

No recall for Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers, but then if Nowak was paying attention over the weekend, he knows what the Columbus Crew midfielder is capable of:

Updated: Rogers' two-goal performance earned him MLS Player of the Week honors (his first such award) Monday from the North American Soccer Reporters.

It's is the Crew's best-ever start to a season and Sigi Schmid's, too.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It didn't take long for the New England Revolution to begin counting the cost of its first-ever victory over Chivas USA in Southern California.

Striker Taylor Twellman, whose 59th minute winner was his first of the season, was visibly distressed after the game with the severity of an apparent second half ankle injury that almost resulted in him being pulled just 14 minutes after coming on as a half time sub.

"My fingers are crossed for myself," he said. "It doesn't look good, but what are you going to do?

"I can't even walk on it right now, that's what scares the shit out of me" he said, adding he initially believed Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas had kicked him (he hadn't).

Twellman said he could have had a second at game's end, but for the injury.

"I would have had a second if my ankle was attached to my leg," he said. "That was the most painful shot I've ever taken."

Twellman was initially slated as a starter for the season opener against Houston, but was removed from the lineup after experiencing discomfort in his right knee during warm-ups.
He underwent surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on April 2, and returned just ahead of the expected six to eight rehab period.

Twellman, fifth on the MLS career goalscoring list, scored his 92nd career goal, his fourth in four games.

Chivas USA Coach Preki was in a fatalistic move after the game.

"We scrambled to put a back line together," he said. "We did a decent job. But we had a couple of break-downs and we got punished."

Preki described it as a "strange game," observing that the early domination of Chivas USA did not result in goals, which "took the wind out of our sails."

"In a lot of ways, I thought it was a little bit of a lop-sided score," he said.

But, he noted, Chivas USA remains just four points out of first place in the Western Conference.

Quote of the day goes to Preki: "It is what it is," he said. "What we have is what we have."

Um, yeah.

Also noted:
*Steve Ralston made MLS history at the 16th minute, becoming the first player in MLS to reach the 30,000-minutes-played mark.

*Today marked Ralston's first start since the season opener when he dislocated his left shoulder, forcing him to miss the next five games.

*Ralston's assist today was his 34th career game-winning assist, giving him sole possession of first place on MLS' all-time list. He had been tied with former Tampa Bay Mutiny teammate Carlos Valderrama.

* Former Galaxy defender Chris Albright also got his first assist for the club today.
"Those are the best kind, the ones you don't have to work for," he said.

Incidentally, Albright is enjoying his new career in New England.

"The veterans on this team have such a good work ethic," he said. "That's what makes this team go. The best players on this team show up and put in 110 percent every game."

Next up for 1-4-2 Chivas USA: D.C. United at home on Saturday.

Where were all the moms? The attendance today was just 10,927.

Updated: Game details are here.

Posted by Nick Green at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In retrospect this was a game the Revs had all but sewn up by half time when striker Taylor Twellman was introduced.

He duly scored 14 minutes after coming onto the field to make the final score 2-1, out-running journeyman Jim Curtin and making him look like the ordinary defender that he is while tracking onto a Steve Ralston pass.

Twellman could have had a second four minutes from time, but sent the shot wide.

Chivas USA Coach Preki manfully attempted to stave off what seemed inevitable introducing midfielder Daniel Paladini for his first MLS game (and promptly collecting a yellow card after an awful challenge on Larentowicz).

Preki also sent on strikers Atiba Harris and Justin Braun.

Braun actually tapped in his first MLS goal from Galindo in second half stoppage time, but it was too little too late.

More from the locker rooms later.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It didn't take long for the makeshift Chivas USA back line to become the story of the opening 45 minutes, the Revs taking a 1-0 lead on a Kenny Mansally strike, his second of the season.

But Chivas USA spurned a couple of early chances to allow the Revs to take the advantage.

MLS debutant Bobby Burling (LMU) put a chance over the bar in the third minute, while Jesse Marsch, with acres of space alone in front of the net, somehow shanked an Ante Razov cross wide.

The Revs countered in the 18th minute, easily breaching the Chivas USA rearguard when Jeff Larentowicz threaded a ball through a porous defense to find Mansally, who slotted home the ball past a helpless Brad Guzan. Former Galaxy defender Chris Albright initiated the sequence.

It could have been worse.

Guzan tipped a dangerous Mauricio Castro shot over the bar shortly before half time to ensure the Revs didn't double their lead.

Moreover, Eric Ebert almost gifted the Revs a goal in the 16th minute, an errant back pass to Guzan picked off by Mansally, who was stopped by an approaching Guzan.

Two notes: apparently Cary Talley was signed from Real Salt Lake already injured, which pretty much sums up the plight of Chivas USA.

Also, after the Galaxy game a member of Legion 1908 committed an "act of violence" against a Galaxy fan and was suspended for two games.

In solidarity, members of Legion 1908 decided to boycott today's game.

The team has adoped a no violence no tolerance toward violence policy in the wake of several reported instances of fan problems, including a stabbing of a Chivas USA fan in Houston, club officials said.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's not just the stands that are bare this morning, so is the Chivas USA (1-3-2) squad.

It's virtually an all new back four for Chivas USA against the Revs (3-3-1).

Shavar Thomas is the lone holdover, with Eric Ebert making his first MLS start and Bobby Burling of Loyola Marymount his MLS debut, alongside veteran Jim Curtin.

The rest of the starting XI is the same as the one that began the scoreless draw against the Dynamo last weekend.

Brad Guzan mans the net, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura and Panchito Mendoza are the midfielders, while Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo are the attackers.

New signing Carey Talley isn't even on the bench.

Chivas USA are seeking their first win in four games.

The Revs are in similar disarray, looking to halt a run of one victory in the last four games.

Coach Steve Nichol reverts to a three-man back line from the team that lost 3-0 to Chicago last weekend.

Former Galaxy favorite Chris Albright, Jay Heaps and Michael Parkhurt line up in front of goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

In midfield, it's Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz and Mauricio Castro.

Kenny Manselly and Khano Smith are up front.

Chivas USA will undoubtedly be relieved that striker Taylor Twellman, who is not fully
fit, starts on the bench although he's expected to see action around the 70th minute or so.

Twellman must relish his chances against the inexperienced Chivas USA defense.

Before I forget, as expected Manchester United pipped Chelsea for the EPL crown today.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good morning to all the mothers who will be whisked off to a futbol game in a couple of hours, injury-stricken Chivas USA taking on the inconsistent New England Revolution at noon at Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA points out how they're going to make the game worth mom's time in their press release:

Mom gets free admission to the game, a complimentary flower (in Chivas colors of Red and White) and a '#1 Mom' Appreciation Certificate upon arrival at the gate. In-stadium, Mary Kay will be on-hand providing complimentary makeovers to all Moms at the popular ChivaTown fan zone, while Donna Karan and Avon will also be distributing complementary perfume and cosmetics samples.

For those who are unable able to bring Mom to the game, Chivas USA's Official Wireless Provider, Sprint, will give fans the opportunity to 'Make a Call to Mom on Us' with special call centers, offering free phone calls within the United States and Mexico, inside the stadium. (Limit one five-minute call per person.)

Meanwhile, on the field, Chivas USA invites Moms to get involved in the action, as a 'Parade of Moms' processes around the playing surface before kickoff; 'Dream Moms' and 'High-Five Moms' accompany the 22 players onto the pitch; and 'Ball Moms' keep the soccer action going on corner kicks, throw-ins and goal kicks.

As for the actual game, there are previews here and here.

In other local action, the S.F. Quakes surrendered a two-goal lead against the Ventura Fusion Saturday.

In the opening game of a doubleheader, the W-League Pali Blues won their first-ever game 5-0 over the Fusion.

In other local PDL scores Saturday:
Fresno Fuego 2 Southern California Seahorses 1
San Jose Frogs 2 Lancaster Rattlers 0
Los Angeles Legends 0 Bakersfield Brigade 0

Former MLS star Eric Wynalda was subbed out by the Brigade in the scoreless draw.

Meanwhile, the U.S. women went on a tear Saturday against Canada.

Happy Mother's Day.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If this were a London tabloid, the headline would read "Reeling Ruud Rips Becks."

In actuality, of course, the criticism of David Beckham by the Galaxy coach was couched in more eloquent terms than that, but it was criticism nevertheless.

"He played too far up," Gullit said. "Mikey and David, they played themselves out of the game."

Credit in part goes to Dave van den Bergh, said Red Bull Coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who credited the former Dutch international with "very effectively" playing against Beckham and visibly frustrating him.

Beckham almost conceded he had met his match in the experienced former Ajax midfielder.

"It's always nice to have a battle on the field," he said, acknowledging a "couple of clashes" that were "nothing out of the ordinary."

Incidentally, Beckham agreed with Gullit's assessment of his performance.

"There were certain times I may have been too forward," he said adding that he was perhaps a little too preoccupied looking for a "killer pass" to split the New York defense.

He acknowledged too, the more than a hint of fragility that cloaks a Galaxy team so dependent on himself and Landon Donovan, who was largely invisible in the second half especially.

"People can't rely too much on Landon scoring every week," he said. "We have to find ways of beating teams when some players aren't scoring and others aren't assisting."

Quote of the Night from Becks, commenting on the team's inexperience: "We're still young - some of us."

Ruud didn't sound in the mood to use youth as an excuse and obliquely criticized his veteran players.

"Sometimes in a game, I don't know what it is, we switch off," he said. "We think we can do it with talent. That's not the case, we have to work hard."

"We battled well, I don't think we played well," Gullit said. "It cost this team a lot of energy to come from a goal down."

In contrast, Osorio was pleased with a "massive" three points and going undefeated three games in a row now.

"We have gotten results with different systems," he said, adding the team had been successful both with three at the back and four at the back. "The team seems very solid and we have allowed teams very few chances."

A handwritten sign left behind in the stands after the game perhaps summed things up: "We want more goals, Landon," it read.

Game story here..

Almost forgot: Sorely-missed striker Carlos Ruiz is expected back from injury perhaps as soon as the May 24 game against Kansas City.

Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning that Galaxy Equipment Coordinator Jose Vega worked his last game with the team Saturday before starting work as equipment manager with the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Wilmington resident had been with the Galaxy since 1998.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Both goals in this 2-1 Red Bull victory came within a two minute second half span.

The Galaxy (briefly) equalized, Alan Gordon spinning onto a Mike Randolph cross to squeeze off a shot between two New York defenders in the 77th minute.

But the Galaxy immediately fell asleep and New York regained the lead a minute later, Juan Pablo Angel sprinting past a static defense and getting off a shot that gave goalkeeper Steve Cronin no chance.

Jozy Altidore was largely invisible for New York, Landon Donovan wasn't much more visible for large chunks of the second half for the Galaxy, while Beckham worked his butt off to little effect.

He did get booked in the 67th minute for what appeared a deliberately late challenge on Dave van den Bergh that a press box colleague observed looked a lot like payback.

Beckham and van den Bergh had gone at it in New York last season.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A goal by New York's Danleigh Borman in only his second MLS start separates the teams in Carson.

It was a closely contested affair in the opening half with both teams, perhaps aware of their defensive liabilities, determined not to give much away.

Clear cut attacks were a relative rarity for both teams, who are tied 3-3 in shots.

Alan Gordon actually had the ball in the net for the Galaxy in the third minute, but was clearly offside.

The goal came 21 minutes in, Hunter Freeman's long throw being met by Juan Pablo Angel who sent the ball into the path of Josy Altidore. His shot was blocked, but Borman was there to pick up the rebound.

New York arguably could have had a penalty as well after Troy Roberts appeared to pull down Altidore, but the referee rejected any claim.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With striker Edson Buddle out with a hamstring problem, Alan Gordon constitutes the sole change for the Galaxy.

Coach Ruud Gullit's starting 11: goalkeeper Steve Cronin; defenders Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Greg Vanney; midfielders David Beckham, Joe Franchino, Brandon McDonald, Mike Randolph; forwards Landon Donovan and Gordon.

New York makes two changes with playmaker Claudio Reyna out injured with a calf strain suffered in the warm up before the Red Bull-Toronto 1-1 tie 10 days ago. Seth Stammler is also missing.

The New York line-up: goalkeeper Jon Conway; defenders Hunter Freeman, Jeff Parke, Kevin Goldthwaite; midfielders Dane Richards, Danleigh Borman, Luke Sassano and Dave van den bergh; forwards Jozy Altidore, Mike Magee and Juan Pablo Angel.

The Galaxy (2-2-2) record against (2-1-2) New York: 12-13-4.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Galaxy Preview

But more importantly, it's BritWeek (more on that later).

Game preview here.

As usual, Red Bull Claudio Reyna is out injured for this one, proving yet again he's not New York's answer to David Beckham.

Speaking of Becks, the folks over at StubHub sent over these stats that show average Galaxy ticket prices on their site have almost tripled, while the volume of ticket sales has soared compared with 2007.

1st home game $26 (2007) Vs. $55 (2008). Sales volume increase: 450%.
2nd home game $28 Vs. $51. Up 60%
3rd home game $18 Vs. $46. Up 2000%
4th home game $32 4/26 Vs. $55. Up 400%

The Becks effect?

Meanwhile, the Galaxy, late in getting their youth development program going, have belatedly made a commitment.

From the press release:

Galaxy Rios, the official youth development program of the LA Galaxy, will enter a team in the USL Super-20 League for the 2008 season.

The LA Galaxy, who are one of three MLS teams to have a club placed in the Super-20 League, will be one of six teams in the Pacific Southern California League.

The coach: Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo.

The roster includes UCLA products David Estrada, Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates, Brian Perk and Michael Stephans; Rafael Garcia and Camillo Rojas of Cal State Northridge; Amani Walker of UC-Irvine; and U.S. Under-18 National Team player Tristan Bowen, the first player ever signed to the Galaxy Rios, and his brother Travis Bowen.

Wonder what the S.F. Quakes think about Nakazawa's departure from their squad?

Galaxy Rios opens their season 5 p.m. Sunday against the Ventura County Fusion at Ventura College.

Here's the complete season schedule:
May 24 vs. Poway Vaqueros 1:30 p.m. Home Depot Center
June 4 at Riverside MGFM (Kickoff TBD)
June 8 at Lancaster Rattlers 4 p.m. Lancaster National Soccer Center
June 15 at Poway Vaqueros 2 p.m. Poway High School
June 22 vs. Bakersfield Brigade 1 p.m. Home Depot Center
June 29 vs. Ventura County Fusion 5 p.m. Home Depot Center
July 5 at Bakersfield Brigade 5 p.m. Bakersfield Christian High School
July 12 vs. Lancaster Rattlers 1 p.m. Home Depot Center
July 13 vs. Riverside MGFM Kickoff TBD Home Depot Center

Chivas Deals

Over in England, Chivas USA midfielder Jorge Flores scored a goal and an assist in the first two friendlies for the U.S. Under-20 National Team on its short tour there.

Flores scored the game-winner on a penalty kick Wednesday in a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers Reserves and grabbed an assist a day later in a 2-1 win over Manchester United Reserves by a score of 2-1. The team plays Liverpool Reserves today.

The Chivas USA U-18 and U-16 teams both play Pateadores in away games this Saturday at Cal-State Fullerton.

The U-16 team, with two consecutive wins against conference opponents, plays at noon against first-place Pateadores team, with the U-18 game following at 2:30 p.m.

U.S. Women

The match in Sweden marks the return of U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage to her native country where she will face her home country for the first time as U.S. coach.

Local Games This Weekend

The Fusion's PDL team hosts the San Fernando Valley Quakes at 7:30 p.m. in the nightcap.

Other games include:
Fresno Fuego at Southern California Seahorses 7 p.m. La Mirada High
San Jose Frogs at Lancaster Rattlers 7 p.m. Pete Knight High.

BritWeek

Missed the earlier videos?

Click here and here and here.

Those who want to delve more deeply into the genre could do worse than checking out this box set (although I could quibble with a few tracks on the last disc).

Posted by Nick Green at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

*U.S. Soccer has announced that tickets for the first U.S. World Cup qualifying match June 15 in Carson against Barbados go on sale at noon Sunday.

Tickets are $19-$66. Call (213)-480-3232.

*The TV schedule for Euro 2008 is out.

There will be five games on ESPN Classic, 17 on ESPN2 and seven on ESPN. ABC will broadcast two matches - a quarterfinal June 21 and the Euro 2008 title match June 29.

Games are generally at 8:50 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. daily. Time to take the month off?

The title game will be preceded by the noon Galaxy-D.C. United game.

*Fox Soccer Channel will show all 16 games over the 10-day Toulon International Tournament May 20-29 including the three U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team games.

The U.S. games:
6:30 a.m. May 21 Vs. Turkey
9:30 a.m. May 23 Vs. Ivory Coast
9 a.m. May 25 Vs. Italy

With their final game of the season sadly only available on the pricey Setanta channel, American soccer fans will still be pulling for Fulhamerica to make an unlikely escape from relegation. The team will ensure their safety with a win Saturday over Portsmouth. Here's a preview.

Loyola Marymount announced the signing of three more players: defender Adam Jackson (Palos Verdes High); goalkeeper Max Young (South Torrance High); and midfielder Fernando Barba (Animo).

Finally, W-League expansion team Pali Blues have announced the signing of 2006 Big East Defender of the Year Carrie Dew (Notre Dame).

The Blues open their season Saturday in Ventura.

I'll have more later today on all the local soccer action in an around LA this weekend.

Plus, more Britpop!

Posted by Nick Green at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Palos Verdes' John Thorrington of the Chicago Fire is the man of the hour in MLS.

Here's another take on the twists and turns of his career ahead of tonight's nationally televised game between the Fire and D. C. United including why he didn't come back to Southern California to play with the Galaxy.

More on Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn and his horrific facial injury, a preview of tonight's game and a look ahead at the two MLS games on tap this weekend at the HDC is here.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Nothing earth-shattering here, but the Galaxy's Chris Klein spoke with The Kansas City Star about what its like to play with David Beckham.

Also, U.S. Soccer announced all the Under-23 Men's National Team games at the annual tournament in Toulon, France will be aired on Fox Soccer Channel.

The nine-day, eight-team tournament runs from May 20-29

The U.S. opens against Turkey on May 21 before facing two Olympic-bound teams in Italy on May 23 and the Ivory Coast on May 25.

Closer to home, the U.S. boys Under-14 team is currently in camp at the HDC in Carson.

Locals participating include goalkeeper Josh McNeely (Hidden Hills), midfielders Eric Gonzales (Corona), Alejandro Guido (Chula Vista), Aldo Magana (Ontario), Oscar Ortega (San Ysidro), and forwards Esteban Rodriguez (Bell Gardens) and Sebastian Velasquez (Los Angeles).

Lots of Latino surnames in a sign U.S. Soccer is belatedly tapping that demographic group for talent.

Cal State Dominguez Hills has honored Sandy Lloyd (Fountain Valley) with the Hal Charnofsky CSUDH Memorial Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.

And how's this for the stat of the week: Through 39 contests in 2008, no MLS team has lost after scoring the first goal. Teams that score first have gone 32-0-7. Last year, the teams that scored first went 134-21-34 overall.

Finally, the 100 Percent Soccer blog continues its salute to BritWeek, which culminates with the Galaxy game Saturday, with the following two little-known Britpop gems.

First up is the aptly-named Lush with its minor U.S. hit "For Love" from the early 1990s.

And as a bonus, here's England's Sunscreem, a band that predated Britpop, but nonetheless earned props for managing to find a word in the English language that rhymes with "purple".

On a completely unrelated note, the chronic technical glitches that have plagued this blog for months are now history or so I'm told. Those whose comments have been lost into the ether should feel free to resubmit them. Or not.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So BritWeek is actually a BritMonth.

But before we get to that it's worth noting:
*That today's column provoked a lively debate here.
*Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn underwent surgery over the weekend at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance. The procedure, performed by Dr. Jay W. Granzow included a surgical repair of Vaughn's nose, which was broken in several places, as well as repair to a laceration on his right cheek, which required 32 stitches.
*This was Chivas USA's Monday.

Back to BritWeek, otherwise known as an excuse to highlight obscure Britpop bands. Such as Ride who had a hit with this song.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blogging 101 says post lists.

It stimulates debate, gets hits and prompts angry e-mails.

Let's see how I do with this.

The news last weekend of the predicament of D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen prompted the topic.

As one reader already observed this morning via e-mail, it was good that I didn't have to consider Chicago Fire midfielder John Thorrington of Palos Verdes for inclusion given his recent unexpected career resurgence. For the same reason former Galaxy midfielder Santino Quaranta, once the youngest player ever signed by MLS you'll recall, didn't get a mention either.

Sadly though Playa del Rey's John O'Brien did.

Incidentally, a colleague who recently interviewed the usually media-shy O'Brien over a couple of beers at a Santa Monica bar, said that he's taking things easy trying to decide what to do with his life.

O'Brien did briefly resurface into the public eye this past weekend though, scoring the winning goal at a beach soccer tournament.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And so shall 100 Percent Soccer.

This is BritWeek.

The Galaxy announced the celebs today who will play in a showbiz game Saturday before the main event against NYRB: (from the press release)

film and television stars Julian Sands, Michael Sheen, and Anthony LaPaglia; TV personality Ross King; soap stars from General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, and Days of Our Lives; music stars Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, and the Marley brothers; not to mention soccer legends Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, and Frank LeBoeuf.

Two British bands play after the 4:30 p.m. celebs game: I-94and Delta Fiasco.

Things to know:
*There's an aptly named Pasadena joint named the Beckham Grill.
*BritWeek is the brainchild of Nigel Lythgoe (American Idol), celebrates British influence in the Los Angeles entertainment industry, together with 50 years of the British Consul having permanent official residence here.
*The first 4,000 fans entering the stadium will receive the second of three Galaxy collector series T-Shirts to be given away this season.
*The musical contribution to this event apparently consists of Duran Duran and Joss Stone.

So since BritWeek screams Britpop I couldn't resist making my own contribution. Look for more all week long.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

PDL team the San Fernando Quakes won their home opener Sunday before a crowd of about 300 at Calabasas High, beating the Southern California Seahorses 3-1.

Game details here.

Other scores from this weekend's local PDL games:
Los Angeles Legends 1 Orange County Blue Star 0
Bakersfield Brigade 2 Lancaster Rattlers 2

The standings after the first round of games.

Meanwhile, South (Torrance) High product Jack Stewart, punted by Real Salt Lake after a series of horrendous defensive miscues, has resurfaced - in Norway.

He has yet to play a game, but former RSL exec Steve Pastorino caught up with him and briefly blogged:

Stewart checked in from Moss FK, where the team has four ties and a win in its first five games. "The transition to European football hasn't been that tough," he wrote in an e-mail. "The biggest change has been in myself, trying to find the form I had before I entered MLS and coaches tried to change how I play. It's all about confidence in self and they preach that a lot over here."

Posted by Nick Green at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Beckham scored a brace and Landon Donovan nabbed an assist to pace the Galaxy to a 2-2 road tie with Real Salt Lake Saturday (who was that prescient columnist who talked about the Becks and Donovan Road Show earlier this week?).

Game details here.

Chivas USA (1-3-2), meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak by grinding out a scoreless draw Saturday at Houston, remaining tied with the Galaxy's opponents on the evening for fourth in the Western Conference.

"We knew it was going to be a tight game," said Chivas USA Coach Preki. "I'm proud of the way we played, the way we defended as a group, finally. We played like we played last year."

Noteworthy:
* Chivas USA's veteran defender Claudio Suárez, earned a red for a foul on Houston's Brian Mullan in the 82nd minute.

*Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn exited the match in the 13th minute with a broken nose and a gash on his right cheek, after being struck in the face by Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario's during a thwarted bicycle kick attempt.

*Referee Jozef Batko showed nine cards during the match (eight yellow and one red), an MLS high so far this season.

*Chivas USA's first choice strike force of Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo made their first start together since last September.

*Goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned his first clean sheet of the season, a week after conceding a career-high five goals against the Galaxy.

The Chivas USA lineup: Brad Guzan, Lawson Vaughn (Chris Pozniak 13), Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas (Jim Curtin 62), Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza, Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov (Justin Braun 78).

Substitutes Not Used: Atiba Harris, Dan Kennedy, Daniel Paladini, Keith Savage

Oh, and hold the Mickey Mouse jokes: Chivas USA take its official 2008 team photograph Monday at Disney's California Adventure.

In other games Saturday, the career of Palos Verdes' John Thorrington continues to sustain a second wind; he scored one and also got an assist in the Chicago Fire's comfortable 3-0 victory over the New England Revolution. Thorrington now has three goals on the season.

Also getting his third of the year was the Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers of Rolling Hills Estates in his teams' 2-1 win over the Kansas City Wizards.

Not surprisingly, longtime South Bay resident Sigi Schmid sounds like he's thoroughly enjoying the vindication that goes along with being the coach of the in-form team in MLS.

On a contrasting note, Lawndale's Kei Kamara didn't have an evening to remember Saturday as his San Jose Earthquakes played their inaugural game at Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium where yours truly had the pleasure of being on hand for the occasion.

He missed on five shots, including at least one he should have tucked away, as the Earthquakes drew 1-1 against FC Dallas.

That continued what has already been a season of futility for the youngster; he came into the game ranked eighth in shots in the league with 12 attempts, but has just one goal to show for it.

Kamara (who seems as if he has grown yet a little more every time I see him) had to think long and hard when I asked what he needed to do differently.

"I've just got to focus a little more when I get inside the box," he finally said after a long pause. "Next time one of them has got to go in. It's up to me now."

Earthquakes Coach Frank Yallop wasn't about to criticize the youngster.

"He's given me everything he's got - he's been unlucky," Yallop said. "He's a young, raw player. It's the most (games) he's ever played in a row."

Well, OK, maybe a little.

"The one he blazed over (the bar), I couldn't believe it," Yallop said

A vociferous crowd of 10,515 watched the action (seating capacity is 10,300, but the Earthquakes sold some standing room only seats) in one of the better 0-0 games I've seen in a while and were chanting and singing throughout.

"The crowd was huge," Kamara said. "They were a huge part of the game."

In fact, all that was missing was new Bakersfield Brigade striker Eric Wynalda (see more below); longtime MLS fans will remember it was the former U.S. international who broke the deadlock in the first-ever MLS game when the then San Jose Clash beat D.C. United 1-0.

The Earthquakes' tight little stadium will be a treat to watch games at (the sight lines cannot be beat) and none other than MLS Commish Don Garber came away suitably impressed.

"It's great to be back," he said, alluding to the Earthquakes returning to their neighborhood (the team has just two other games at the Oakland Coliseum this season both against you know who and the Galaxy). "It's very intimate. The environment is electric."

By the way, Garber also made some interesting comments regarding how soccer fans are increasingly communicating on the Internet, something that only adds to their fervor.

Against that backdrop, I counted a mere six print reporters in the main press box.

Still, Yallop doesn't think his team are too far away from playing much better.

"We did everything right, but score," he said of the performance. "We're not anticipating very well. The final touch is just out of reach.

Former Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon (who pointed out he got a shutout) said he believes the team needs a player (or two) "with bite" and the ability to win 50-50 balls to improve.

Still, Cannon sounded positively dizzy about the team and Yallop's new lease on his career.

"Him and (General Manager) John (Doyle) have a much better relationship than he has with others in the past," a not so oblique reference to Alexi Lalas. "He's a guy all of us want to die for."

Meanwhile, the aforementioned Wynalda made his PDL debut Saturday against the Ventura County Fusion.

Finally, the U.S. Women beat Australia in a thriller for the second successive game.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With both the Galaxy and Chivas USA on the road, it seemed only logical I should do the same and head north to the Bay Area for the inaugural San Jose Earthquakes (1-3-0) game against FC Dallas (2-1-2) at Santa Clara Univerisity's Buck Shaw Stadium.

Gorgeous weather, quaint stadium, a rocking atmosphere, yes, they sell beer (it's apparently dry for collegiate events) and free press box food (are you listening Galaxy?).

What's not to like?

As for the game, a brief preview is here, which notes ex-Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez is starting, while the full magnitude of the event is explained here.

Back later with more.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Even though the Galaxy and Chivas USA are on the road this weekend, there's still plenty of live soccer on tap in the Southland this weekend.

And Becks is excited anyway.

The Ventura County Fusion open their season tonight against the Bakersfield Brigade, who include Eric Wynalda in their squad.

The San Fernando Valley Quakes play their home opener Sunday in Calabasas against the Southern California Seahorses

The Earth Quakes feature the likes of Palos Verdes Estates' UCLA playmaker Kyle Nakazawa and former Galaxy player Benjamin Benditson.

Meanwhile, the PDL Los Angeles Legends play Orange County Blue Star

Posted by Nick Green at 1:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While the Galaxy continues to negotiate a game against Iran, at least one Australian newspaper is reporting today that LA will return to Oz this fall.

Meanwhile, in the least surprising news of the day, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan was named the MLS Player of the Month for April, after scoring a blistering eight goals and earning a pair of assists in just five games. It's the third career Player of the Month award for the native of Redlands.

Posted by Nick Green at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chicago Fire midfielder John Thorrington was acknowledged as one of the finest soccer products to emerge from the South Bay when he joined England's storied Manchester United out of the Palos Verdes Peninsula's Chadwick School.

His pro career hasn't quite had the expected trajectory, however, with injuries stifling his anticipated progress.

But Thorrington persevered, scoring two goals for the Fire last weekend to beat the Colorado Rapids.

Here's a concise profile that traces the challenges he has faced.

Posted by Nick Green at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guess we'll soon find out whether the Galaxy Ambassadors have any clout.

A worthy, if perhaps ultimately futile, effort is here (caution strong language and opinions).

Food, generally, at the HDC from the press box and stadium club to the concessions is virtually indigestible.

Cardboard churros. Servers who regard a food order as a completely alien experience and apparently have never seen a cash register before you order. Few concourse televisions to assuage the paralyzed concession lines.

Makes you pine for the day of King Taco. And why can't we have some local flavor if we're drinking over-priced beer?
(It's the best pub nearest to the HDC and where the Riot Squad meets before games).

Of course, there's always the ubiquitous bacon-wrapped hot dog outside the stadium anyway.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I get paid to worry.

As in today's column, which takes a look at the dominance of David Beckham and Landon Donovan and the implications for the Galaxy's season.

For those who haven't seen it yet, here are the highlights of Becks and Donovan dismantling Chivas USA.

Not surprisingly after that performance, Galaxy forward Landon Donovan was named the MLS Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters, for the second consecutive week.

Elsewhere, Long Beach State has announced its 2008 recruiting class including defender Nicole Hubbard (Lakewood/Mayfair High) and U.S. Under-17 international midfielder Shawna Gordon (Rancho Cucamonga/Los Osos High) as freshmen, while Marissa "Bo" Rael (Rancho Cucamonga/Los Osos High), who played last semester at the University of Oregon, is at LBSU.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Alan Gordon scored two goals and an assist within eight minutes, after coming on as a sub.

Landon Donovan scored the first Galaxy hat trick in four years.

And Wayne Gretzky, Tom Cruise, a rumored Luis Figo and Gawd knows who else put in appearances on a memorable night where the action matched the hype (what hype?).

This was a glorious night for the sport that seemed to catch just about everyone by surprise.

"Gordo did an excellent job when he came in," Gullit said. "He changed the game."

Or as Sigi Schmid was fond of saying: goals change games.

Gullit was effusive, too, about the play of rookie defender Sean Franklin in the center of defense.

"He's made huge progress and that makes me happy," he said, adding that he needed speed at the position to counter the Chivas USA forward line. Gullit made no mention of Franklin partner Abel Xavier, by the way.

Landon Donovan, one of the few players to stick around and answer questions (as usual), said his pre-game preparations have been key to his on-field performance.

"I'm raising every aspect of my game preparations very, very seriously," he said. "I feel like I'm being more assertive and more aggressive and I'm reaping the benefits of that."

And he had encouraging words for Gordon, too.

"He adds a different dimension so we can play more direct at times," Donovan said. "I'm just happy for Gordo because he works so hard."

Not surprisingly, Chivas USA players didn't hang around for the post-game inquest.

No matter.

There are games that are turning points in a season and games that are exclamation points. This was the latter. There were no complaints tonight (at least from the Galaxy).

Check out the game in pictures.

Next for the Galaxy: May 3 at Real Salt Lake.

Next for Chivas USA: May 3 at Houston.

Notable local: John Thorrington (Chadwick School) of the Fire who scored two goals Saturday to lead Chicago to a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Galaxy overwhelmed Chivas USA with four second half goals en route to a resounding 5-2 triumph.

In truth, the Galaxy put this game out of Chivas USA's reach in a two-minute second half span, Alan Gordon capitalizing on a Brad Guzan error to snatch the go ahead goal five minutes after coming on as a sub and then setting up Donovan's third of the night a minute later.

Donovan's hat trick was the first by a Galaxy player since Alejandro Moreno scored three on May 19, 2004.

Chivas USA had started the second half promisingly, Panchito Mendoza sending a stinging drive off the Galaxy's far post after just three minutes.

But Donovan put the Galaxy 2-1 up 10 minutes later, stripping the ball away from Chivas USA defender Claudio Suarez after Mike Randolph had pulled the ball back.

A wide open Ante Razov clinically finished to pull Chivas USA level after 62 minutes before the Galaxy onslaught gave their opponents no way back into the game.

Gordon added the fifth six minutes from time, stabbing home a Beckham pass.

More after the press conference.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A packed house saw Landon Donovan continue his torrid scoring streak, grabbing his sixth goal in five games.

It was a fortuitous goal: Brandon McDonald clearly handled the ball in poking it through to Donovan, who connected nicely with a 20-yard left-footed half-volley.

Chivas USA has never won an MLS game after conceding the first goal, but apparently Sacha Kljestan didn't get the memo. He victimized Galaxy defender Abel Xavier for the equalizer, unleashing a lovely 17-yard shot into the top corner as the former Portuguese international backed up and gave the Chivas USA midfielder way too much space.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lovely evening to watch, if not play soccer at the HDC, with the temperature at kickoff hovering around 86 degrees.

The Galaxy and Chivas USA come into the game tied at four points and know that only once in the history of the series has the team that scores first gone on to lose the game.

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit has made two changes from the starting 11 that drew with Houston last weekend, with Josh Tudela sitting out and Abel Xavier coming in for his second start of the year in the center of defense. Joey Franchino replaces Alan Gordon in midfield, while Mike Randolph moves to midfield from the back four.

Steve Cronin is in goal as usual, with Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Xavier and Greg Vanney in front of him.

David Beckham, tied for the MLS lead in assists with three, is in midfield alongside Franchino, Brandon McDonald and Randolph. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan, who needs one more goal to become the 12th player in the league to score 70 goals in a career, are up front.

Chivas USA Coach Preki has made two changes to the team that lost 2-0 to Dallas last weekend, Panchito Mendoza and Sacha Kljestan both returning from suspension in midfield.

That prompts Lawson Vaughn to drop to the back four with Claudio Suarez, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein and Brad Guzan between the posts.

Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura line up in midfield with Kljestan and Mendoza, while Maykel Galindo and Justin Braun are up front. Ante Razov, still struggling with an injury, is on the bench.

Forgot to mention: Stevie "2 Pounds" Forbes (33-5, Nine KO's), prepping to fight Oscar de la Hoya May 3
at the HDC, will make the ceremonial coin toss at the start of the game.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bumped into fellow Galaxy fan Mike Adams at my local watering hole Friday where conversation inevitably turned to soccer and today's game.

Mike made some good points I've been dismayed to hear more often of late and I asked him to put his thoughts down on paper (as it were). Hopefully, Home Depot Center management is taking note:

Today is the big intercity rivalry between the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

Though I'm excited about the match and the Home Depot Center is only 10 minutes away from my house, I will also be sure to watch it from my couch or at my local pub.

The crowd that attends the Galaxy-Chivas USA game too often crosses the line with their conduct.

I'm a sports fan raised in Torrance, and have long enjoyed taking in local live events

I've had Lakers season tickets for 10 years, and attend Dodgers games regularly.

I was raised on football and baseball, but my wife, Michelle, and I have discovered that nothing beats sitting back at Home Depot Center with a cold beer and enjoying a good soccer match.

The atmosphere in the stadium is great, and there are people of all ages rooting on their team with intensity.

We've had Galaxy seats for the past couple of years, and have seen some great games. The excitement and fan banter was second to none when the Galaxy played Chelsea and Scotland's Rangers last year, and also during many of the hard fought matches during SuperLiga.

Unfortunately, there have been a few matches that have erased our good feelings about the experience, namely Galaxy-Chivas USA games, as well as the Galaxy-Pachuca match.

We have found that there is group of fans that attend these matches that want to take their fanship to another level and take it as a personal affront if you root against their team.

Last year we took two friends to their first live soccer match vs Pachuca after telling them how family friendly the Galaxy games were, and encouraged them to take their kids to future matches.

But then the pro-Pachuca fans in the crowd were in their faces screaming insults within 10 minutes of taking our seats.

We were challenged to fights multiple times, and when we didn't get involved, they would fight amongst themselves.

I believe we witnessed more than five ejections from our seating area.

The Chivas USA matches were the same.

Drunken fans, with their insulting comments, exhibited generally aggressive behavior.

There were too many fights with too many people throwing things.

Wearing a Galaxy jersey to the games makes you a mark for a challenge to fight or as a target of beer and other flying items.

I am all for being a diehard fan for your team and mixing it up respectfully with those around you, but I don't attend the matches to get in fights or have things thrown at me.

So here's to enjoying this great rivalry with a cold beer in hand - from my couch.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hostilities resume today between intra-stadium rivals Chivas USA and the Galaxy, although that term may be a tad extreme in a city that barely notices the rivalry.

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit, who during his career as a player, coach and match commentator with the likes of Newcastle, Sunderland, Chelsea, Arsenal, AC Milan, Spurs, et al has really experienced some intense derbies, tried to be diplomatic this morning about the still-budding contest.

"The big difference (compared to) other places like Milan, is the city is not as involved," said Gullit, the Galaxy's coach. "You don't know about it so much, like in Milan or any other city. It's a little bit odd, I must say. You don't have that same feeling. For us, of course, it's important."

A game preview is here.

Just to set the stage further: Chivas USA trails in the 12-game series overall with a 3-7-2 record, although the club won the last two games by 3-0 margins including a Sept. 13 contest that (among other things) cruelly exposed the shortcomings of aging Galaxy defender Abel Xavier.

Highlights (lowlights?) of that encounter below.

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel. A sellout is expected, although tickets were still available this morning.

In related news, defender Dan Gargan, who played in last week's Chivas USA reserve game, has signed with the club. From the Chivas USA press release:

A three-year veteran of Major League Soccer and native of Philadelphia, Pa., Gargan, 25, made 49 appearances for the Colorado Rapids from 2005-2007 (31 starts), mainly as right-sided defender, following a standout four-year career at Georgetown University. Gargan joins Chivas USA as a disabled list replacement for defender Alex Zotinca, who was placed on Chivas USA’s disabled list prior to the season after undergoing ACL reconstruction on his right knee.

“Dan is both young and has good experience in the league, and will bring depth to our squad, particularly on the right side,” said Chivas USA Head Coach Preki. “He’s got a good mind for the game and we’re happy to bring him into the team.”

Originally selected in the third round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft, Dan Gargan recorded three assists in his 49 games with the Rapids, and also appeared in a number of Reserve Team matches for the two-time defending Reserve Division champions. Prior to joining MLS, Gargan played at Georgetown , where he was a starter all four years for the Hoyas and served as the team’s captain in his senior year. Though primarily used as a defender or defensive midfielder, Gargan scored a total of 11 goals and added 18 assists in his collegiate career.

In addition to his experience in MLS, Gargan spent two weeks training with Pachuca of the Mexican First Division in January of 2007. He was awarded the ‘Rapids Most Improved Player’ award after a breakout season in 2006 in which he started 18 of the team’s final 20 matches of the season.

Also, Chivas USA defender-midfielder Jorge Flores has been called into the U.S. Under-20 National Team for three friendlies against the Bolton Wanderers, Manchester United and Liverpool reserve teams.

Finally, Chivas USA will hold a "Practice in the Community" at 10 a.m. Sunday at Rio de Los Angeles State Park.

The squad will sign autographs until about noon afterward.

Rio de Los Angeles State Park is at 1900 San Fernando Road, Los Angeles, just off the Golden State (I-5) and Glendale (SR-2) Freeways.

I'll blog from the game as usual.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Virtually no local reporters bothered to show up for Thursday's presser advancing Saturday's Chivas USA-Galaxy derby, so we leave it to this scribe to do the job for us.

Meanwhile, the legacy of David Beckham's visit to Hawaii continues with this pathetic little tale.

On a happier note, former Galaxy coach and longtime South bay resident Sigi Schmid, currently in exile in Ohio, is nearing a milestone.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Beckham, apparently too chicken to chat with Stephen Colbert, shows up at 4 p.m. on KNBC on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Expect plenty of fawning from the host. Promo clip here.

In completely unrelated news, the Galaxy have relaunched their Kids Club. The $15 membership fee includes, well, not very much: a free poster, a password for the club Web site, a club card, a "special" Galaxy gift and a discounted ticket to a game. Sign up at the Galaxy Web site.

Meanwhile, the, um, hype begins for Saturday's Galaxy-Chivas USA derby with a Thursday press conference with the Galaxy's Chris Klein and Ruud Gullit and Chivas USA's Maykel Galindo and Preki.

Whether anyone will say anything remotely interesting is quite another thing. Bet they won't top Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan at any rate who recently said:

"I always think about the Galaxy because I always feel that I have my good games when I play against the Galaxy. I don't enjoy beating anybody else better than I enjoy beating the Galaxy."

Read the whole thing here.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Didja remember to TiVo the 11:30 a.m. Manchester United-Barcelona UEFA Champions League semifinal game live on ESPN2?

Good.

(Very) briefly: Rolling Hills Estates' trigger happy midfielder Robbie Rogers of the Columbus Crew will answer questions from fans at 11 a.m. at TheCrew.com

And GolTV, fresh off securing the rights to German National Team games, will now also air Italy's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign as well as some friendlies, starting May 30 with the game against Belgium.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is likely the final MLS season for Chivas USA defender Claudio Suarez, one of the true gentlemen in the league.

Suarez graciously sat down for an in-depth interview Monday, spending about an hour reminiscing about his career.

Left out for space reasons were the following nuggets:
*Best moment of his career - lifting the Confederation's Cup in 1999 as Mexico's captain.
*Worst moment - being accused of doping in 1997 during the same tournament. Suarez was eventually exonerated completely by FIFA.
*Toughest opponent in MLS: New York Red Bull striker Juan Pablo Angel.
*Toughest opponent he's ever faced: Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta.

Incidentally, while I was chatting with Suarez, the Chivas USA reserves were beating their FC Dallas counterparts 3-0 Monday, with Ante Razov getting two goals.

The Galaxy reserves, by the way, lost 2-1 to Houston Sunday, despite a Bryan Jordan goal. The Galaxy reserves fell to 0-2-1 with the loss.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not surprisingly, Chivas USA officials and coaches had little to say after that dour performance.

But Preki rejected the idea this was a game to forget.

"I'm going to look at the video, see what's going on," he said.

Always quotable veteran Jesse Marsch had the strongest words.

"As a team we couldn't get a goal and we couldn't find a rhythm," he said. I'll take responsibility for the way we played tonight. I'm embarrassed for us."

In contrast, Dallas Coach Steve Morrow said it was his team's best performance of the season.

"It was a real team effort tonight," he said, pointing out it was the team's second consecutive shutout. "We want to build on good, strong defensive displays."

Game story here.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dallas assumed sole possession of the Western Conference lead after scoring the game's second goal 10 minutes from time on a breakaway from Abe Thompson who outran two defenders to put this one of the reach of Chivas USA, which fell to 1-2-1.

Dallas kept Chivas USA in check pretty much the entire game, controlling without dominating the flow and tempo of the game and performing well enough to deserve the win.

Chivas USA attempted to rustle up the firepower to break down the Dallas defense, sending on strikers Ante Razov and Atiba Harris around the hour mark, but it wasn't enough.

In a move that summed up the evening for Chivas USA, Razov almost collected a consolation goal in the 90th minute, connecting with a zipping little left-footed half volley from just seven yards out, but the shot rattled off the post.

There were 10,237 on hand to watch this one, incidentally. The two teams' reserve units play at 10 a.m. Monday at the Home Depot Center's Track & Field Stadium. Admission is free.

I'll be back with more from the respective locker rooms.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dallas took a one-goal lead after five minutes to provide one of the few noteworthy moments in an otherwise undistinguished first half largely played in the middle third of the field.

Dax McCarty crossed and Ricardinho headed the ball down into the path of Kenny Cooper who swept it into the net from close range for his fourth goal in four games, good for second on the MLS goal scoring chart behind Landon Donovan.

And that, frankly, was largely it until Kraig Chiles tested Dario Sala with a stiff shot a minute before the end of regulation in the first half.

Posted by Nick Green at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lovely late spring afternoon in Carson for soccer.

Unfortunately for (1-1-1) Chivas USA there are negligible lines, no parking hassles and few fans.

Nice and mellow for the rest of us.

To the lineups: Chivas USA Coach Preki makes five changes to the eleven that lost 4-3 to the Columbus Crew last weekend.

Brad Guzan starts in goal as usual, while Claudio Suarez returns in the center of defense for his first MLS start of the campaign. Chris Pozniak, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein also feature in the back.

Lawson Vaughn returns to start in midfield, alongside Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura, while Kraig Chiles makes his MLS debut.

Justin Braun starts up front in place of Atiba Harris, relegated to the bench, and Maykel Galindo returns.

Jim Curtin and Keith Savage lose their places and drop to the bench.

Both Panchito Mendoza and Sacha Kljestan are suspended.

Dallas (1-0-2), the lone undefeated team in MLS after Chicago's loss to the Wizards earlier today, makes two changes to the team that beat Red Bull New York 2-0 last weekend. Juan Toja and Pablo Richetti are both out through injury and Marcelo Saragosa and Ricardinho get the starts in their stead.

Otherwise, its Dario Sala in goal, Drew Moor, Dulio Davino, Adrian Serioux and Blake Wagner in the back, Dax McCarty, Andre Rocha, Arturo Alvarez and the aforementioned Saragosa in midfield. Kenny Cooper partners Ricardinho up front.

Posted by Nick Green at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's start with the draw for the men's and women's Olympic soccer tournament made this morning in Switzerland.

Here's the reaction from U.S. players to the men's team drawing Holland, Nigeria and Japan.

Women's Coach Pia Sundhage had this to say about the women's draw:

“I’m very excited about the challenge of the draw overall. Group F is certainly the strongest of the three groups, but our group will be very good as well. We will play three very different teams with very different styles of play, which will test our ability to adapt in a world championship tournament with just a few days rest between games.”

Also noted: the U.S. roster for upcoming friendlies against Australia and Canada.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA will test the depth of their squad this afternoon (5 p.m. Fox Sports) at Home Depot Center against FC Dallas, who have similar issues.

Dallas is out for revenge, while Chivas USA seems likely to welcome veteran Mexican defender Claudio Suarez back for his first game of the season.

Finally, condolences to notable local Kei Kamara of Lawndale, who scored in San Jose's 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids Saturday to help the expansion team to their first MLS win, but lost an older brother a few days ago who died in Africa - after getting some teeth pulled.

Puts a mere game in perspective, doesn't it?

I'll blog from the HDC this afternoon as usual. See you then.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First, lets break down the half time personnel moves by Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit that changed the nature of this game.

Gullit inserted new Galaxy signing Joey Franchino - a player he had seen only on video - into the middle of the park in place of the ineffective Alan Gordon. Josh Tudela also came out, with left back Mike Randolph slotting into left midfield and Sean Franklin moving over into his position. Abel Xavier came in for Franklin in central defense.

"I had to have a little bit more power in midfield," Gullit said, adding that Franchino was valuable because of his left foot.

"We didn't have control of midfield (in the first half)," Gullit added. "There were too many gaps."

Goalkeeper Steve Cronin also credited Franchino for restoring order - and perhaps intimidating the Dynamo a little, too.

"He's a presence there," Cronin said. "He's a hard-nosed guy."

David Beckham lamented the lack of "fight" and "urgency" the Galaxy demonstrated in the opening 45 minutes.

"A few words were spoken at half time by players and management," he said.

But Beckham rejected the notion he and Donovan had essentially played the role of white knights for the Galaxy.

"It's more about the fight that went on before it," he said. "That's what got us back into the game."

Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear conceded that on the balance of play the draw constituted a "fair result," considering how the momentum "came and went" for his team after outplaying the Galaxy in the opening 45 minutes.

"We just couldn't hold onto the ball as well as we did in the first half and it hurt us a little bit," he said.

But just in case the importance (over reliance?) of Donovan for the Galaxy needed emphasizing, it's worth pointing out he now has five goals in four games and has scored all but one of the Galaxy's goals so far in this young season (Becks has the other).

Game details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

David Beckham and Landon Donovan combined on two second half goals to pull LA into a 2-2 tie with the Dynamo, essentially rescuing a Galaxy team that had trailed by a goal and appeared headed for the Western Conference basement with just six minutes in regulation time left to go.

Both goals illustrated the gulf in class that separate Donovan and Beckham from the rest of the Galaxy team or most of MLS for that matter.

The first equalizing Galaxy goal was a thing of beauty, Beckham curling over a cross that was met by a spectacularly diving Landon Donovan at the near post, who beat Dynamo defender Patrick Ianni to the ball and let the UCLA product know it. Just minutes earlier Ianni had gone shoulder to shoulder with Donovan chasing a ball with a perfectly legitimate challenge, but one that visibly annoyed both Beckham and Donovan.

The Dynamo scored what they thought was likely the winning goal 10 minutes later, Brian Ching hitting the bar and Franco Caraccio following up to slot it into the net from close range.

But Beckham and Donovan combined again to pull the Galaxy back from the precipice, Donovan beating a Houston defender to the ball to poke it into the net.

The Galaxy almost notched a winner in second half stoppage time, Ianni capping an eventful evening by clearing an Edson Buddle header off the line.

It's a fine line between success or failure at this stage of the season for the 2-2-0 Galaxy.

More after the press conference, including the unusual personnel switches Coach Ruud Gullit made at half time (Joey Franchino: playmaker!?).

Posted by Nick Green at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sean Franklin, the rookie defender who has been so impressive for the Galaxy so far this term, was well and truly beaten by the Dynamo's Brian Mullan on the opening goal by Houston about 10 minutes before half time.

Mullan beat Franklin by the touchline, then crossed the ball to Argentine Franco Caraccio who headed it down to Brian Ching. He whiffed on it, but the ball fell to Brad Davis who tucked it away.

Houston thoroughly deserved the lead having dominated possession and strung together the more impressive attacking opportunities in the opening half.

The Galaxy needed Josh Tudela to clear off the goal line to prevent a goal in the seventh minute, while Steve Cronin pushed a Davis free kick onto the bar in the 26th minute.

Galaxy attacks were largely restricted to a well-worked third minute move slickly begun by David Beckham and an Edson Buddle header that went wide in first half stoppage time.

The Dynamo ended the half with 10 shots to the Galaxy's five.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Good evening from Victoria Street where the green paint is gone from the field and the turf looks vastly improved over the Toronto game last weekend.

Injuries have enforced changes for the (1-2-0) Galaxy tonight, Although goalkeeper Steve Cronin, suffering from a left groin strain, passed a late fitness test, denying Josh Wicks the opportunity to make his MLS debut.

The back line remains the same: Sean Franklin and Greg Vanney in the center of defense with Mike Randolph expected to overlap from left back and Chris Klein playing on the right.

Josh Tudela replaces Ely Allen (right hamstring strain) wide on the left, with David Beckham on the right and Brandon McDonald in the middle alongside Alan Gordon, who drops into midfield to deputize for Brazilian Alvaro Pires, out with a left knee issue. Incidentally, Gordon hasn't played in midfield since the first game of the Galaxy's preseason Asian tour, when he scored from the deep lying position.

New signing Joey Franchino is on the bench.

The (0-1-2) Dynamo, winless on the road so far this season, will see former Gretna goalkeeper Tony Kaig, 34, continue to deputize for veteran Pat Onstad (shoulder) in goal.

Wade Barrett, (201 MLS starts as of tonight and counting), Bobby Boswell, Patrick Ianni and Richard Mulrooney are arrayed across the back line, while Ricardo Clark (done with his lengthy suspension) makes his second successive start in midfield, behind Dwayne De Rosario. Brad Davis and Brian Mullan patrol the flanks, with Bring Ching and 21-year-old Argentine striker Franco Caraccio providing the one-two punch up front.

Defender Eddie Robinson is out, missing the first game of a three match suspension, while Craig Waibel (hamstring) is also absent.

The game is on Fox Sports West, by the way.

I'll be back at half time.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After facing two expansion teams in their last two games, the Galaxy come down to earth with a dynamic bump, hosting MLS Cup holders Houston at 7:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center live on Fox Sports.

Fortunately, Houston sports an unstable back line the Galaxy should be able to exploit.

Right?

Posted by Nick Green at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Literally.

And.

Most recently, Franchino was rumored to be one of two Revs players dressed in Yankees gear who went to a Red Sox game between the teams, got drunk and was thrown out of the stadium.

Perhaps his most impressive stats: 52 yellow cards, two red cards in 210 regular season games.

Fighter. Drinker. Enforcer.

Like a character out of The Sopranos, 31-year-old Joey is back for a second go-around (you got a problem with that?) for the Galaxy in exchange for a 2009 second round draft pick.

From the Galaxy press release:

Franchino was selected by the Galaxy in the third round of the 1998 MLS College Draft and played 49 games for the club, helping the Galaxy reach the 1999 MLS Cup. In May 2000, he was selected by the Revolution in a special draft that followed the Galaxy’s acquisition of forward Luis Hernandez. Franchino would go on to play in 162 games for the Revs during his eight years with the club, placing him second in New England history in all-time games played

To make room, defender Michael Gavin was moved to the Galaxy's developmental roster.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There's a full slate of soccer this weekend in Southern California, with both the Galaxy and Chivas USA playing home games at Home Depot Center in Carson.

The Galaxy are up first, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against defending MLS champions, the Houston Dynamo. With the Beckham buzz apparently wearing off, tickets are discounted 35 percent, a free Galaxy hat is on offer and pop-punk band The Burning Tree Project play a pre-game concert.

Check out the band below.

Want to see the Galaxy free? The reserve team plays at 1 p.m. Sunday against their Houston counterparts at the HDC.

Injury-riddled Chivas USA, meanwhile plays FC Dallas at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Want to see Chivas USA for free? The club's Under-16 and Under-18 teams play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday against Real So Cal at Agoura High School in Agoura Hills.

Incidentally, the Galaxy, which has been slow to get its youth programs going as required by MLS, launches two teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy program this fall.

Also progressing at a glacial pace has been the Galaxy's entry into the new Women's Professional Soccer league that aims to start play next year. Rumors a month ago that Galaxy parent company Anschutz Entertainment Group was looking to sell the unnamed team before it even starts play are apparently false. The team is accepting $25 deposits for season tickets.

In other women's soccer news, Loyola Marymount University Thursday announced the signing of two more players: Midfielder Jaide Timm-Garcia (Desert Christian High, Lancaster) and goalkeeper Katie Graul (Santiago Canyon College).

Finally, MLS Commissioner Don Garber belatedly joins the blogging party, penning "The Commissioner Speaks" every other Friday beginning at noon today. But will he actually say anything?

And, if you only watch one game this weekend, check out Manchester United against Brad Friedel's Blackburn Rovers at 9 a.m. Saturday on Fox Soccer Channel.

I'll be blogging from the HDC at both MLS games this weekend, as usual, by the way.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mexico beat China 1-0 in Seattle Wednesday night in a largely meaningless game rendered even more inconsequential by this irrelevant story in today's Seattle Times apparently written by the only Latino guy in the nation to never see a soccer game involving Mexico.

From José Miguel Romero we learn that Mexico has really loud fans just like the Seahawks (can we get through a soccer story without an unnecessary American sports reference, please) and that they even (gasp) throw plastic bottles (in Mexico those bottles are usually filled with a recycled liquid).

Sadly, patronizing stories like this written for non-soccer fans are not a thing of the past and just reinforce how out of touch many newspapers are with their readers, most of whom do not regard soccer as some alien novelty act. You need to get out of Renton more Romero.

While I'm on a rant, things don't get much better over at USA Today, which manages to suck the life out of today's D.C. United-Columbus Crew game (live at 5 p.m. on ESPN2) with the following soulless slab of stats-laden sterility that passes for a game preview:

Playing their third match in eight days and seventh since March 12 - including a CONCACAF Champions Cup game - United (1-2-0) lost 4-0 at Real Salt Lake on Saturday to drop to 0-2 on the road.

United went 6-5-4 on the road in 2007 en route to finishing with an MLS-best 55 points, but they've been outscored 6-0 away from home this year.

D.C.'s lone win came 4-1 over Toronto FC on April 5 at RFK Stadium.

(snip)

Though United went 10-2-3 at home in 2007, they'll be facing a Columbus team that was 2-1-0 against them in 2007. The Crew won 3-2 at RFK Stadium on Oct. 20 in the most recent meeting.

United had just three shots on goal and six total shots against Salt Lake. D.C. will be looking to avoid being shut out in a third straight road match for the first time since going scoreless in five straight away from home from April 15-June 12, 2005.

They couldn't cram another number in?

For perspective and context (and a reporter who uses numbers for actual journalistic effect), let's turn to the excellent Steven Goff over at The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, perhaps the most candid interview I've seen so far with former Galaxy midfielder Santino Quaranta (now back at D.C.) includes this excerpt:

I never really did the right things just in life, I couldn’t really deal with life in life’s terms you know what I mean? I was trying to juggle being a father, being a husband, being the guy that everybody looks at to go out and party. It was a lot of fear. I knew that things were going bad and I knew that everything was slipping away from me and that I couldn’t control that. It was out of my control, that was the best I could do at that point.

Read the whole thing here.

Finally, perhaps the best reason to check in on tonight's MLS game for Los Angeles-area fans is to monitor the continuing progress of Rolling Hillls Estates' Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers
who has 15 shots in just three games, more than any other player in the league. Rogers scored two goals, including the game-winner, in the Crew’s 4-3 victory over Chivas USA last weekend and is rapidly maturing into a dangerous, creative player. In sum, he has five MLS goals in 13 games.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good morning class.

Today's topic: geography.

Being married to map geek (known professionally as a geographic information systems analyst) means acquiring an appreciation for the world of cartography.

MLS recently issued an interesting map showing the cosmopolitan origins of its players, which makes even more interesting reading when compared to last year's version.

The most striking difference: the number of Argentines in MLS (10 as of March 26) has now exceeded the number of Brazilians (9); last year there were only five Argentines compared to eight Brazilians in the league.

The importation of foreign talent means more competition for Americans to make MLS rosters. This year 229 Americans found places on MLS rosters, compared to 218 last year. And that's with an additional team in the league.

That's raised the quality of play, most observers agree, but it also has repercussions for the development of young American talent.

Still, attendance is up.

Finally, with the 39th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon approaching, here's a fun map that puts his lunar journey into perspective for soccer fans.

Class dismissed.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here's Tuesday column on why American soccer fans should be backing EPL team Fulham.

Also:
*The Galaxy signed two developmental players Monday - defenders Vardan Adzemian (Ventura County Fusion) and Scott Bolkan (Stanford) - and promptly shipped both to the USL Portland Timbers to gain experience.
*Former Cuban Under-23 National Team players Yordany Alvarez, Yenier Bermudez and Jose Manuel Miranda, will continue to train with the Galaxy through the end of this week at least after impressing the coaching staff.
*The San Jose Earthquakes signed Loyola Marymount University senior defender Adam Sloustcher to a developmental deal after watching him play in a reserve game against the Galaxy earlier this month.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a choice: listen to a droning lawnmower in the outdoor HDC press box while blogging.

Or opt for the Wi-Fi at the air-conditioned Red Car microbrewery in Old Torrance (and watch the game again on delay).

No contest.

Just watch out for the Turbo Porter.

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit lamented the "sloppy" defending, "unnecessary" goals and generally crappy finishing that led to the 3-2 defeat he described as a "huge disappointment."

"It was just one of those days," he said.

But he insisted the Galaxy were the superior team for most of the game and observed that Toronto had three chances and successfully converted all of them.

Landon Donovan was contrite.

"I'm disappointed in myself because having three chances like that would have changed the game," he said. "If we were a little better in front of both goals we probably would have had a comfortable victory."

David Beckham was in a bit of a combative mood in the post-game press conference, but then for the second consecutive home game was subjected to a annoying question from one of the assembled media. Last game it was about the relationship between Beckham's kids and Tom Cruise's child (?); this time a radio reporter took an unnecessarily adversarial position regarding Beckham's midfield contribution (marginal at best, but then Beckham undoubtedly recognized that).

Then, in somewhat of a contradiction, Beckham laid out what had gone wrong today:

"When you don't keep the ball and you don't pass the ball well, it brings all sorts of problems and we lost our shape in the second half.

Um, so pretty much everything went wrong, huh?

Then he ripped the media for over-reacting to the results so far.

"We're three games into the season and maybe people are starting to panic too much."

Hmm, let's take stock.

The Galaxy got destroyed by a weakened Colorado Rapids, squeak by the expansion Earthquakes and lose to last year's worst team in MLS.

Who us? Panic?

One diversion was Beckham's cameo as a central defender in the 70th minute, when he brought down Jeff Cunningham as the last man back. That's a red card offense.

"It was definitely a foul," Cunningham said. "I think it would have been quite harsh to give him a red card to be honest."

Gullit knew Becks was fortunate though.

"We were lucky there," he said. "It was the only luck we had today."

And so did Beckham.

"Thankfully, we got away with that one," he said.

Quote of the Day comes from Cunningham regarding the trade rumors (again?) surrounding him.

"My career has always been on the move," he said. "I pack light."

Game details from a Canadian perspective here.

And here's the Daily Breeze/Daily News version.

Posted by Nick Green at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This was one of those games that wasn't as good as the 3-2 score suggests.

And the 20,426 allegedly in attendance let the Galaxy know about their insipid performance, boos cascading down from the stands at game's end.

The Galaxy did indeed pay the price for squandering chances, with Toronto's Jeff Cunningham scoring an 88th minute-winner, turning a hapless Greg Vanney around 180 degrees to rifle it home. Hopefully Ely Allen, who missed a golden opportunity three minutes from time when he took an unnecessary second touch a couple of yards from goal and had the ball poked off his foot, will take note.

The Galaxy were forced to play catch-up for much of the half, Toronto's New Zealand striker Jarrod Smith collecting his first MLS goal in the 53rd minute, when Steve Cronin could only parry a bullet of a free kick from Fontana's Maurice Edu. Vanney, continuing to show his age, had given away the free kick, incidentally.

The Galaxy evened the game when Toronto's Marco Velez handled in the box in the 57th minute and Landon Donovan scored from the resulting penalty kick.

More after the press conference.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Good afternoon from Victoria Street where the former Newcastle United coaching team of Ruud Gullit and John Carver will pit wits from the opposing benches.

It's hot even in the shade in Carson so expect a slow game as Toronto's collection of English blokes swoon in the Southern California sun. They're watering the field; let's hope that green paint on the field doesn't run.

With Brazilian Alvaro Pires apparently recovered from his foot injury Gullit names the same lineup that brought the Galaxy victory last Thursday against San Jose.

For the Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Mike Randolph, Greg Vanney, David Beckham, Pires, Brandon McDonald, Ely Allen, Landon Donovan and Alan Gordon.

Former Chivas USA midfielder Amado Guevara slots into the Toronto midfield, while Kevin Harmse sits out after collecting a red card in the 4-1 loss to D.C. United in their last outing.

For Toronto: Greg Sutton, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Marco Velez, Jim Brennan, Carl Robinson, Maurice Edu, Amado Guevara, Jarrod Smith, Laurent Robert, Danny Dichio.

It will be interesting to see how Robert and Guevara link up in midfield for winless Toronto.

Trivia time: Exactly 12 years ago today, the Galaxy played its first MLS game against the then MetroStars.

Leading the Galaxy's front line: Harut Karapetyan and Eduardo Hurtado.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good weekend in MLS so far for LA-area soccer products with Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers starring for the Crew with a game-winning brace against Chivas USA, former Cal State Dominguez Hills goalkeeper Kevin Hartman snatching his 69th career shutout in the Wizards scoreless tie with the Houston Dynamo and UCLA product Chad Barrett halting an Earthquake (or two) in Chicago's 1-0 win over San Jose.

Next up: Fontana's Maurice Edu who faces David Beckham for the first time in his career at noon today in Carson as FC Toronto plays the Galaxy (the game is live on Telefutura).

Toronto (0-2) will have a new-look midfield, while it seems Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit will stick with his youth movement.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Two goals by Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers led the Columbus Crew past Chivas USA 4-3 Saturday, while the U.S. women beat Canada on penalties in Olympic qualifying.

Columbus Coach Sigi Schmid summed up the game when he talked to the Columbus Dispatch: "I don't know if my heart can take all of them like this," he said. "Everybody should be made to watch this on TV and then say soccer is not exciting."

Too bad it was played before the smallest crowd (6,733) ever to see a Crew game in frigid temperatures.

Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, to blame for the winning goal, had better hope scouts from Aston Villa etc., weren't watching.

More game details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A weakened Chivas USA takes on former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid and the Columbus Crew on the road live at 4:30 p.m. on Prime today in chilly Ohio.

Game previews are here and here. Who knew Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers, the Crew midfielder, was leading MLS in shots at this early stage of the season?

Meanwhile, former Chivas USA CEO Javier Leon has temporarily turned up in Chicago with the Fire.

Finally, the Galaxy play Sunday in Carson against Toronto, but David Beckham and Ruud Gullit are rivals in one respect.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The most notable local soccer news this morning: Chivas USA taking a bus to LAX enroute to Saturday's game in Columbus (I kid you not).

That being the case, far more interesting was the recent arrival of a box from MLS containing media guides for all 14 teams.

Filled with facts and figures, the media guides are indispensable aids to covering the league, but the books also inadvertently tell much about the identity of individual teams.

For instance, only one club - the Columbus Crew - put an actual player in action (in this case Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto) on the cover, while most of the rest opt largely for stylized logos that emphasize the team is the thing rather than select star players.

That includes the Galaxy, which could have put David Beckham on the cover, but chose not to do so.

Exceptions: the defending champion Houston Dynamo, which opted for a picture of Dwayne De Rosario lifting the MLS Cup; the Colorado Rapids, which went with a shot of their new stadium; and D.C. United, which chose to acknowledge their especially fervent fan base with a crowd shot. Logical covers in each case.

Only the Kansas City Wizards bravely chose to illustrate their coach, Curt Onalfo, on the cover. That hopefully does not mean the kiss of death for him in the job before the season is out.

For a couple seasons, the Wizards media guide was among the flimsiest in MLS, perhaps indicative of the previous owners lack of commitment (and cash) to the franchise; now it is among the heftiest in the league.

Among the longest guides in MLS this season is the one for Red Bull New York, a tome that checks in at 330 pages (one of the shortest is for the Dyanamo at just 140 pages, thereby illustrating it's what you do on the field that really counts). Thankfully long gone is the season when the then-MetroStars issued a CD-ROM rather than an actual book for their media guide, an unwieldy format that reminded one of the poorly-performing team a little too much.

And while we're looking for analogies, I always appreciate those guides that come with a coil to hold pages in place (which I'm guessing are more expensive to print and the reason we don't see more of them). Does it mean anything that I've already cracked the spine of the Real Salt Lake guide and some pages are falling out?

FC Dallas continues to salute the far-reaching influence of late owner Lamar Hunt on the sport and league, placing his bio on page six of their guide. In contrast, (and as usual) the Galaxy somehow managed to keep the name of reclusive owner Phillip Anschutz out of their guide entirely, even though the league would likely have collapsed a few years ago without his backing.

Some things are just plain weird.

Why, for instance, does RSL give us both English- and Spanish-language biographies of such executives as Chief Financial Officer Gary Reimer, but doesn't do the same for a single member of the playing roster? Much more important for Spanish-speaking journalists to learn about the details of Mr. Reimer's career (he's the former CFO of Capri Sun!) than, say, that of goalkeeper Nick Rimando, I guess.

The crown jewel of the guides, however, is the 588-page MLS Fact and Record Book (last year's edition was "only" 554 pages long) pictured above.

The league resumed printing these three years ago (if memory serves) after what was presumably a money-saving hiatus. Only a few thousand are printed annually, so if you can get your hands on one it's an excellent way to wile away a boring 0-0 game.

The book contains the career record or every player to ever grace an MLS field, a season by season record for every team and even the past and present logos of every club (remember LA's Twizzle thingie that was supposed to represent a spinning galaxy?).

But it also contains essential information the league itself appears to gloss over.

For example, at the bottom of page 8 the reader learns the MLS format this year will be the top three teams in each conference and then the two with the most points regardless of conference.

That compares to last year's playoff structure of the top two teams in each conference plus the remaining four regardless of conference.

I can't recall the league ever announcing the change though, so I guess it pays to read the fine print.

The book contains a dizzying amount of information only a soccer geek would love (can you name the 13 sets of brothers who have played in MLS?) including how many teams have opened a season with scoreless draws in consecutive games (the Fire and Crew in 2004 and 2007 respectively).

And in what is surely some sort of commentary on the growth of MLS, the size of the media guides has outgrown the stiff cardboard "book case" to house them all in the league provided a few years ago.

The best thing about the books though?

That new media guide smell, all plastic-like and crisp.

Just don't breath too deep.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The trio of Cubans who defected during Olympic qualifiers last month have turned up at the Galaxy. Guess LA doesn't want another Maykel Galindo to get away.

David Beckham, meanwhile, offers his insiders view (ahem) of the Galaxy season so far in his latest blog post.

The ramifications of a potential all-England UEFA Champions League final when it comes to playing EPL games overseas (remember that proposal?) are explored here.

Finally, the Long Beach State Women play the U.S.Under-20 National Women's Team in a scrimmage that's free to watch at 11 a.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chivas USA finally severed ties with expensive flop Amado Guevara today, dumping him on Toronto for unspecified draft picks in 2009 and 2010

“This trade was made in the best interests of our club,” said Preki. “We feel good about our group right now, and since the player in question did not fit into our plans, we made the best available deal for his rights. We hope that these additional SuperDraft picks will help Chivas USA as we continue to build our team moving forward."

The 31-year-old Honduran played all of four games for Chivas before being loaned back home to Motagua.

Naturally, Toronto employed a different spin in their press (edited) release:

Toronto GM Mo Johnston is reunited with Guevara whom he coached while with the New York Red Bulls in 2006. The midfielder signed with the then- Metrostars in 2003 (from Motagua) and was named MVP after scoring eight goals and adding five assists. He was the 2004 MLS MVP and played 103 times for New York.

By the way, Guevara could make his MLS debut against the Galaxy Sunday at Home Depot Center. Tickets are being discounted up to 35 percent for the game. I don't think there's a connection.

Chivas USA also acquired goalkeeper Dan Kennedy - three years after the team drafted him - from second division Chilean club Municipal Iquique.

Kennedy, 25, figures to be Brad Guzan's backup - and maybe the starter if Guzan ends up in England in the summer - is from Yorba Linda and played for UC Santa Barbara. He led the Chilean second division in goals against average last year and played with the USL Puerto Rico Islanders for two years before that.

“We are happy to acquire a goalkeeper of Dan Kennedy’s quality and international experience, as we continue to deepen our squad ahead of a busy summer,” said Coach Preki.

That schedule includes SuperLiga games July 13 against Pachuca and July 16 against Santos at the HDC and New England July 20 (at a LA-area stadium to be determined), sandwiched in between a July 10 derby against the Galaxy and the July 24 All-Star game. There's a $1 million prize for the winner.

Lastly, word of today's Guevara deal after weeks of rumors gives extra resonance to today's Toronto Sun story on the subject, which I reprint here only because I couldn't find it on their Web site:

Honduran international Amado Guevara said yesterday that he has a long-term contract to play for Toronto FC, and that he could join the team tomorrow.

But the one-time league rookie of the year may be bringing more to the table than just his ability to score from the right side.

Guevara is serving a 30-day suspension from Motagua of the Central American Football League after an altercation with Mario Moncada, the league's top referee.

And it's not the first time the 31-year-old right side midfielder has been in trouble with soccer authorities.

During his first stint in MLS -- after being traded from New York Red Bulls to Chivas USA in 2005 -- Guevara was also punished for pushing an assistant referee there.

It was shortly after that he told Chivas coach Predrag Radosavljevic (Preki) that he was done with the team and was moving back to Honduras.

"I have a vision of where the club is going and [I'm] not part of it," he told Preki.

At that point Guevara became something of a pariah in the MLS with several attempts by Chivas to trade him falling through.

Now, however, TFC director of soccer Mo Johnston seems convinced he can get Guevara back to the form that made him MVP material in the 2003 season with New York.

While TFC offficials would not talk about the his status yesterday, Guevara had no such reticience when he told the Honduran newspaper La Tribuna he has a four-year deal with Toronto.

"I don't know if in four years when my contract with Toronto expires if I will still want to play," Guevara told the paper.

Guevara's recent play with Motagua -- other than his referee bashing -- has been stellar, according to sources in the league.

He led Motagua to the Central American club championship last season, when Montagua beat Costa Rican giant Saprissa 2-1 on aggregate.

It's his temper, however, that keeps getting him in trouble on the pitch.

In the most recent incident, Guevara lashed out at his homeland's soccer bosses, alleging he was being "persecuted" and that's the reason he signed with TFC.

"I am going because I fear that I do not want to continue (shortening) my career by playing here," he said. "What happened (suspension) was unbearable.''

For all his faults, however, Guevara still has many fans who marvel at his skills when he is on top of his game.

ESPN soccer columnist Ives Galarcep is one, and he said that Guevara could help TFC with its goal scoring production.

"I will readily admit to being one of Guevara's harshest critics when he had his lapses, but there has never been any doubt about his ability to be an impact player when he is on his game," he said. "Considering Toronto won't give up anything to acquire Guevara and will likely land him for a salary in the $250K to $300K range, it is a gamble worth taking considering the team's need for a playmaker."

It would also give TFC a balanced attack with its recent acquisition of Laurent Robert on the other side of the pitch and last season's rookie of the year Maurice Edu in the centre.

Rookie of the Year?

Posted by Nick Green at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Crunch Time in Mexico

The U.S. plays Costa Rica, a nation that has never beaten the Americans in four tries, at 6 p.m. while Mexico faces Canada in the nightcap.

Costa Rica features Torrance's Vanessa Rojas on its squad, while the U.S. has Torrance's Shannon Boxx.

“We haven’t played them since 2004, but it looks like they have improved," said U.S. defender Kate Markgraf. "They have really technical players and they look more athletic then they have in the past. We will have to see how much they try to attack or if they sit back, but we can adapt and play our style according to the flow of the game.”

The Americans handily beat Costa Rica 4-0 the last time the nations met.

There's no TV coverage.

Chivas USA Youngsters with USA

Flores played in all five U-20 games in January, including three as captain; Mayen, who signed with Chivas USA on March 27, will be with the U.S. U-20 squad for the first time.

Milestone for Matt

Reis, who has has started 72 consecutive regular season games for the Revolution, the longest current active streak in MLS, has played the last 6,480 minutes for the club, just shy of Pat Onstad's record 6,648 minute stretch set from 2005-2007.

Hamilton Honored

Hamilton, a former Torrance resident, was Galaxy GM when he died in March 2006 from heart complications at the age of 43. He is also the brother of Chivas USA Vice President of Soccer Operations Stephen Hamilton. Proceeds from the game benefit Hamilton's son Aedan.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For Tuesday's column I took a look at the locals in MLS.

Read it here.

One correction to the column: Mike Caso was waived by the Galaxy, not Chivas USA.

Here's a list of the other Californians in MLS who weren't listed in the column for space reasons with their hometown and college affiliation:

Chicago Fire - C.J. Brown, Hayward, UCLA; Calen Carr, Berkeley, Cal; Peter Lowry, Fair Oaks, Santa Clara.

Chivas USA - Anthony Hamilton, Grand Terrace, UC Irvine; Sacha Kljestan, Huntington Beach, Seton Hall; Kraig Chiles, San Diego, San Diego State; Eric Ebert, Irvine, Cal.

Columbus Crew - Steven Lenhart, Yorba Linda, Azusa Pacific.

Colorado Rapids - Jordan Harvey, Mission Viejo, UCLA; Jovan Kirovski, Escondido.

FC Dallas - Eric Avila, San Diego, UC Santa Barbara.

Houston Dynamo - Johnny Alcavez, Santa Barbara, UC Santa Barbara & Westmont College; Patrick Ianni, Lodi, UCLA; Chris Wondolowski, Danville, Chico State; Nick Hatzke, San Jose, Cal; Stephen Wondolowski, Danville, UC Santa Cruz.

Kansas City Wizards - Eric Kronberg, Santa Rosa, Cal; Tyson Wahl, Newport Beach, Cal; Matt Marquess, Palo Alto, UC Santa Cruz & UC Santa Barbara.

Galaxy - Troy Roberts, Fremont, Cal.

New England Revolution - Amaechi Igwe, Belmont, Santa Clara; Matt Reis, Mission Viejo, UCLA.

New York Red Bulls - Kevin Goldthwaite, Sacramento, Notre Dame; Luke Sassano, Orinda, Cal.

Real Salt Lake - Chris Seitz, San Luis Obispo, Maryland; Brennan Tennelle, San Diego, UC Santa Barbara; Ian Joy, San Diego, Nick Rimando, Montclair, UCLA.

San Jose Earthquakes - Ramiro Corrales, Salinas; Eric Denton, Manteca, Santa Clara; Matt Hatzke, San Jose, Santa Clara; Jamil Roberts, Fremont, Santa Clara.

Toronto - Marvell Wynne, Poway, UCLA.

Who did I miss?

Posted by Nick Green at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spent much of today researching Tuesday's column, but noted these items in passing:
*David Beckham was named MLS Player of the Week today by the North American Soccer Reporters for his goal and assist in the Galaxy’s 2-0 win Thursday over the Earthquakes. It's his first Player of the Week honor and the first for a Galaxy player since Landon Donovan was recognized four weeks into the season last year.

*In reserve games, Chivas USA drew 1-1 with Real Salt Lake Sunday in the track and field stadium at Home Depot Center, with midfielder Kraig Chiles scoring in the 14th minute. Real Salt lake equalized in second half stoppage time. The Galaxy and Earthquakes traded first half penalties Friday, but San Jose won 2-1 on a 72nd minute Adam Smarte goal. Edson Buddle scored for the Galaxy.

*The Galaxy acquired a fourth round pick in next year's supplemental draft for the rights to midfielder Matt Hatzke last week, who was selected in this year’s draft, but not offered a contract by the club. The former Santa Clara player signed with the Earthquakes last week and played against the Galaxy in Friday’s reserve game.

*The Galaxy's Brazilian midfielder Alvaro Pires will see a foot specialist this week and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against Toronto.

*Missed this article about new Chivas USA signing Justin Braun.

Finally, as a former resident of Seattle I should note (with much relief) that the suits finally gave into reality and today named the 2009 MLS expansion team the Seattle Sounders, the name it should have been all along. They've tacked a FC on the end, but that's irrelevant given that football teams the world over employ that acronym and it's widely ignored. Good riddance Seattle Alliance and Seattle Republic.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An exacting move was clinically concluded by Atiba Harris for his first Chivas USA goal after 55 minutes, giving the home team the go ahead goal en route to an eventual 3-1 victory Saturday night in Carson and sole possession of the Western Conference lead after all of two games. Panchito Mendoza had sent a ball wide to Sacha Klejsten to begin the move, whose cross was met perfectly by Harris for the goal.

Chivas USA received a scare after Real Salt Lake pulled one back seconds later via their Scottish striker dubbed "Dr. Goals" - Kenny Deuchar - a real life physician, but it wasn't enough.

Alecko Eskandarian sealed the victory in second half stoppage time with an individual effort on a breakaway as RSL pushed unsuccessfully forward in search of a late equalizer.

It was a justly deserved victory in a game Chivas USA largely controlled, if not dominated.

Updated:

Almost to a man, Chivas USA players repeated the mantra that they should have played better, but would happily take the three points at this stage of the season.

A sampling:
*"I don't think we played our best," said Coach Preki. "I think we can play a lot better."

*"It wasn't pretty, it wasn't our best game by any means, but we had chances and put them away," said goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

*"We're happy with the three points, but we're not happy with the way we controlled the game," said midfielder Sacha Kljesten.

You get the idea.

Next for Chivas USA: Sigi Schmid and the Columbus Crew next Saturday on the road.

Game details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's Chivas USA 1 Real Salt Lake 0 in the opening 45 minutes.

After neutralizing each other for the first half hour, the two sides discovered the difference between them: Chivas USA can finish, RSL apparently can't.

Chivas USA struck in the 32nd minute, when Panchito Mendoza unleashed a galloping Maykel Galindo who evaded a tackle and pushed a through ball into the path of Sacha Kljsten, who beat goalkeeper Nick Rimando to slide the ball into the net.

RSL countered with a similar break three minutes later, but Kenny Deuchar somehow contrived to miss Robbie Findley's pin-point cross at the far post when it was surely harder to avoid the net than score.

In truth, Chivas USA should probably have led after Mendoza failed to latch on to a Galindo cross at the far post with about 15 minutes gone, sending a ball across the face of the goal that skimmed out of the reach of four Real Salt Lake defenders as well as Panchito

Chivas USA appeared to cope well with the absence of veteran Mexican defender Claudio Suarez for the second consecutive game, who was watching from the stands with his family after returning Friday from Mexico in the wake of his father's death.

Chivas USA is playing four in defense rather than three though, with Chris Pozniak essentially playing at right back.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chivas USA meets fellow 2005 expansion team Real Salt Lake on a slightly chilly night at Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA are unbeaten in their last seven games over RSL, although both teams are coming off identical 1-1 ties in their respective season openers.

Chivas will switch to a 3-5-2 formation with Jim Curtin, Shavar Thomas and Jonathan Bornstein retaining their places in defense and leaving Lawson Vaughn the odd man out.

New signing Chris Pozniak makes his Chivas USA debut in midfield with Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura and Panchito Mendoza all returning for the second consecutive game in the middle of the park.

Last year's top scorer Maykel Galindo makes his first start, but with Ante Razov out injured former RSL forward Atiba Harris moves into his slot.

Alecko Eskandarian is on the bench.

Real Salt Lake sees Nick Rimando in goal with Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Argentine Matias Mantilla and Ian Joy starting in the same back four formation as in the opening game.

Kyle Beckerman, playmaker Javier Morales, Carey Talley and 10-year MLS veteran Dema Kovalenko comprise the midfield.

Up front it's former Galaxy striker Robbie Findley partnered with Kenny Deuchar, formerly with Scotland's Gretna.

Another fairly sparse crowd for Chivas USA, illustrating how much work they have ahead of them.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two days after the Galaxy started their MLS season in Carson, Chivas USA plays their home opener at 7:30 tonight against perennial MLS bottom dwellers Real Salt Lake at Home Depot Center live on Prime.

Plenty of tickets are available including a $50 package to five Chivas USA home games that includes tonight's match, the June 19 visit of Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the Chicago Fire and the Aug. 14 derby against the Galaxy.

Tonight also marks the start of Chivas USA's "The shirts off their backs" campaign when the 11 players that finish the game will throw their jerseys into the crowd after the final whistle. Temperatures will be in the high 50s by the look of it. Brrr.

A game preview is here, while the two Salt Lake City newspapers give a historical perspective about Real Salt Lake's lack of success at the HDC here and here.

Chivas USA striker Ante Razov is listed as probable for today's game after suffering a calf strain in the match against FC Dallas, by the way.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As it has for the past several years, the MLS Players Union has revealed its members' annual salaries, in part to show the pittance many earn.

Sports Illustrated has an overview here with links to the complete list for the last two years.

Below are the guaranteed salaries for Galaxy and Chivas USA players with their 2007 pay packet in parentheses where applicable.

So who's overpaid? Underpaid?

The numbers:

Chivas USA
Jonathan Bornstein $77,500 ($57,500)
Justin Braun $12,900
Bobby Burling $17,700 ($12,900)
Kraig Chiles $12,900
Jim Curtin $104,004 ($120,750)
Eric Ebert $12,900
Alecko Eskandarian $131,041 ($175,500)
Jorge Flores $17,700.00
Maykel Galindo $79,750
Brad Guzan $103,974.38
Anthony Hamilton $17,700.00
Atiba Harris $60,000.00
Sacha Kljestan $128,000 ($103,000)
Jesse Marsch $159,375 ($109,375)
Francisco Mendoza $105,000 ($93,750)
Paulo Nagamura $93,712.50 ($89,250)
Daniel Paladini $12,900
Lance Parker $12,900
Chris Pozniak $101,000
Ante Razov $258,750 ($248,750)
Keith Savage $12,900
Shavar Thomas $98,750
Lawson Vaughn $33,000 ($30,000)
Raphael Wicky $210,000
Alex Zotinca $72,125.00

Galaxy
Charles Alamo $12,900
Ely Allen Ely $44,750
David Beckham $6.5 million ($6.5 million)
Edson Buddle $157,000
Steve Cronin $75,000 ($42,228.75)
Landon Donovan $900,000 ($900,000)
Sean Franklin $48,500
Michael Gavin $33,000
Alan Gordon $72,504 ($30,870)
Ante Jazic $120,250.00 ($114,250)
Chris Klein $190,000 ($187,250)
Brandon McDonald $12,900
Michael Randolph $33,000.00
Troy Roberts $33,000 ($30,000)
Carlos Ruiz $460,000 ($435,000)
Izzy Sesay $57,083.33
Pete Vagenas $138,437.50 ($131,875)
Greg Vanney $91,800.00
Abel Xavier $156,000

Posted by Nick Green at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Galaxy may have lucked out when San Jose's early strike was disallowed (it was certainly a close offside call), took full advantage of a defensive gaffe for the first goal and caught the Earthquakes out with an excellently worked break for the second.

But no-one used words like luck after the game.

"It allows us to write off the Colorado game," said relieved midfielder Chris Klein.

Coach Ruud Gullit was perhaps the most voluble I've seen him after the game, uncharacteristically heaping praise on such young players as Ely Allen and Palmdale's Sean Franklin.

"I was extremely happy with Sean," Gullit said. "He was really, really good. He has composure on the ball, he's quick and he checks forward."

Gullit also defended the work rate of Alan Gordon, who was the subject of unhappiness from the crowd for his finishing (or lack thereof).

David Beckham scored his first MLS goal - his free kick last season came in SuperLiga - but was more interested in talking about the improved team performance.

"What changed is our positional play," he said. "In the first game we were all over the place."

Landon Donovan clearly relished playing with someone like Beckham who has the same speed of thought and touch he does on the ball.

"We understand the game the same way and we see the game the same way so it makes it easier," he said.

Finally, Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon and Donovan may be good friends, but not on the field.

"(I was) bummed out for Joe," Donovan said of the goal. "But stay on his line next time."

Updated:
Game details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Galaxy 2 San Jose Earthquakes 0

An enthralling opening 45 minutes was followed by an undistinguished second half that saw the Earthquakes tighten up on defense and the Galaxy largely held in check as a result.

David Beckham, seeking space on the right, essentially succeeded only in taking himself out of the game, as his Galaxy teammates were either incapable or unwilling to find him.

That left Becks shaking his head midway through the half and stalking back into position clearly disgruntled.

A Beckham-Landon Donovan break a minute from time provided what little excitement there was, although the move broke down when Donovan unselfishly (too unselfishly) attempted to involve Alan Gordon.

Taking stock, the question becomes what sort of Galaxy team do we have here? Apparently one that can't beat a weakened Rapids, but can overcome an expansion team (without a strike force) playing its first game.

We'll see what Gullit says in the press conference.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fluid, creative and dangerous - in short all the things the Galaxy weren't last weekend - were hallmarks of the L.A. offense in the first half, yielding two goals without reply.

And it could have been more.

With Ely Allen proving a handful up the left flank, the Earthquakes defense has showed it can't handle the Galaxy's speed and anticipation so far.

After a shaky start that saw an Earthquakes goal disallowed after just two minutes (presumably for offside), the first goal came just seven minutes later.

A Ryan Cochrane error was seized upon by Landon Donovan who delivered a pass David Beckham side-footed into the net.

The second came eight minutes before half time when Alan Gordon fed Beckham, who slipped a wonderfully weighted pass to Donovan who beat Joe Cannon to the ball for the goal.

The Galaxy could have had a third just before the break when Alvaro Pires missed from point blank range from a Beckham free kick.

Overall, this was a completely different Galaxy team from the one we saw in Colorado with L.A. out-shooting the Earthquakes 11-2.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome from Home Depot Center where the opening home game of the season features a team without a defense of note (the Galaxy) against an expansion team (the Earthquakes) sans much of any respectable attack.

Still, the field is immaculate, a sense of anticipation (or is that foreboding?) is in the air and the stands are um, half full (they're supposed to fill up).

Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit has made four changes from the team that got murdered 4-0 in Colorado last weekend.

Cal State Northridge defender Sean Franklin makes his home debut in central defense, while Mike Randolph returns to the starting line-up as left back for the suspended Abel Xavier and the dropped Michael Gavin, who is on the bench.

Brandon McDonald comes in for Peter Vagenas (also on the bench) in midfield, while Alan Gordon replaces the injured Carlos Ruiz and partners Landon Donovan in attack.

Steve Cronin is in goal, with Chris Klein and Greg Vanney retaining their spots in the back four.

Also in midfield, it's captain David Beckham, Brazilian Alvaro Pires and Ely Allen.

For the Earthquakes: former Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon is in the net and former Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia and James Riley are arrayed across the back.

The four man midfield consists of recent acquisition from Toronto FC Ronnie O'Brien, (out to prove his injury woes are behind him), former 'Quake Ramiro Corrales, ex-Galaxy player Ned Grabavoy and Ivan Guerrero.

Up front: Lawndale's Kei Kamara and draft pick Shea Salinas.

Ex-Chivas USA men Preston Burpo and John Cunliffe are on the bench for the Earthquakes as is former Galaxy super sub Gavin Glinton.

Incidentally, the Chicago Fire walloped the New England Revolution 4-0 earlier this evening, with UCLA product Chad Barrett getting a goal and an assist on a Cuatuhtemoc Blanco strike.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Breeze today named Banning's Guillermo Beltran as its Boys Player of the Year and Banning Coach Frank Sandoval as its Boys Coach of the Year.

Mira Costa's Julia Barrow was named Girls Player of the Year on Tuesday along with Girls Coach of the Year, South Torrance's Brad Gomez.

In other high school related soccer news, Chivas USA has launched an internship program at Carson High dubbed "Imagine More. Be More!"

More details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One game into the season and the Galaxy are already seeking to rebound from last weekend's humiliating 4-0 loss to Colorado, taking on former Coach Frank Yallop and the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. live on ESPN2 from Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy are usually cagey about revealing ticket sales in advance, but commonly (and gleefully) announce sell outs and that hasn't happened yet, leaving one to wonder whether skeptical fans are taking a wait and see approach to David Beckham et al.

Expect Coach Ruud Gullit to juggle his line-up in the wake of that debacle with central defender Abel Xavier suspended after his red card against the Rapids.

The defense has looked suspect for much of preseason and in the Rapids the Galaxy simply found a team ready to take advantage, but this was apparently news to Gullit.

"The strangest thing is it doesn't happen in the preseason, all of a sudden it occurred," Gullit said of the poor defensive performance.

A game preview from a Galaxy perspective is here, comments from Yallop on his return to L.A. are here and a season preview of the 'Quakes is here.

Are the 'Quakes the Galaxy's biggest rival in MLS? San Jose fans think so judging by the results of a poll on the Earthquakes' Web site.

Finally, sports media critic and fellow blogger Tom Hoffarth talked to ESPN commentator Julie Foudy about the Galaxy and tonight's game.

I'll blog from the stadium tonight, providing regular updates.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Seattle MLS team co-owner, Libertarian-minded game show host and (former?) Galaxy fan Drew Carey manages to equate the two in the latest video he's done for Reason.tv.

It's called "Immigration: The Beckham Factor."

An excerpt:

“Americans, especially, L.A. Galaxy fans were very excited and greeted David Beckham with open arms when he came here to play in Los Angeles, even though he took the roster spot away from some poor, hard-working American kid,” Carey says in the Reason.tv video. “So I guess we’re very welcoming when it comes to rich famous Brits. And we love our Beatles. But are we as welcoming when it comes to people from other countries?”

Watch it here.

If you liked that you'll probably like Carey's take on medical marijuana, poker bans and middle-class America.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's tempting to say Abel Xavier was fined for going AWOL on defense Saturday against the Rapids, but alas that's not true.

Colorado Rapids midfielder Ciaran O'Brien was also fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee today and received an additional one-game ban for putting Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz in hospital.

From the MLS press release:

Xavier was fined a total of $1,600 and receives an automatic one-game red card suspension for his actions in Saturday night’s game versus the Rapids, while O’Brien was fined a total of $500 and is suspended two games for dangerous conduct in the same game.

Xavier was fined $750 for excessive dissent and $250 for failure to leave field following a red card that was given in the 89th minute of the game. He was also fined $250 for post-game public criticism of officiating. These fines come on top of a $250 automatic fine and one-game suspension for a red card and a $100 automatic fine for a yellow card caution for dissent received earlier in the game.

Xavier will serve his one-game suspension on Thursday when the Galaxy host the San Jose Earthquakes.

O’Brien received a red card in the 90th minute of the Rapids versus Galaxy game on Saturday for a dangerous foul committed against Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz that caused Ruiz injury. The League has suspended O’Brien one additional game and fined him and additional $250 for his actions in Saturday night’s game. O’Brien will serve his two-game suspension in consecutive weekends when the Rapids travel to face the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday and travel to play the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 12.

Videom of the foul on Ruiz (and its aftermath) is here.

Posted by Nick Green at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One game into the season and the Galaticos are already falling. From the Galaxy press release:

LA Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz underwent arthroscopic surgery this morning to repair a slight tear of the meniscus in his right knee. Ruiz suffered the injury, as well as a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL), late in Saturday night’s loss to the Colorado Rapids in the Galaxy’s season opener at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Galaxy team doctor Dr. Bert Mandelbaum performed the surgery today in Santa Monica and Ruiz is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks.

Ruiz, who is the second leading scorer in club history, returned to Los Angeles in January via a trade with FC Dallas. The 28-year old Galaxy forward led the club in goals this preseason with three while playing in all three games of the club’s Asia Tour 2008. He suffered a team-high four fouls in Saturday’s game, the last of which knocked Ruiz out of the game and led to a red card for Colorado midfielder Ciaran O’Brien.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just in case any reminder was needed regarding the peripheral role MLS plays in the sports mainstream in this country, a trip to Las Vegas on the opening weekend of the season provided it.

Avoiding news about MLS (so I could watch TiVo'd Galaxy and Chivas USA games Monday night and this morning respectively) was disconcertingly easy.

No mention of MLS on the ESPN bottom of the screen crawl during March madness on the ubiquitous televisions in casinos (and this is the league's alleged broadcast partner?).

Most sports books don't take bets on MLS games (the Station Casino chain is an exception).

And Fox Soccer Channel and others that carry the game simply aren't one of the options at the gazillions of television choices at sports books.

So it wasn't until Monday night I learned the Galaxy's new look team looked a lot like their old ones in a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Colorado Rapids. That was L.A.'s worst loss since the waning days of the Steve Sampson era (May 6, 2006 to be precise). Exactly a month later, Sampson was fired.

Are you listening Ruud Gullit?

Perhaps even more drastic action needs to be taken in the case of increasingly embarrassing cart horse defender Abel Xavier, who is slowing down almost visibly with every game and was to blame on several of the goals. And I wasn't thinking he needs to be put out to pasture.

Let's see David Beckham laugh that one off at 11:35 p.m. this evening with Leno on "The Tonight Show."

Meanwhile, the Galaxy announced today they will host a U.S. Open Cup qualifying game Tuesday May 27 against those same Rapids. Let's hope Colorado doesn't play another (ahem) "weakened" line-up. Tickets are on sale now for the 7:30 p.m. game.

Good thing Maykel Galindo and Chivas USA are likely to be a lot more diverting than the Galaxy again this year, the Cuban saving the point against Dallas Sunday with a late equalizer.

Condolences to classy Mexican veteran defender Claudio Suarez, a resident of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, who missed the game due to the death of his father.

Congrats to Downey High junior Briant Reyes, 16, named the winner of the Los Angeles portion of "Sueño MLS 2008: The Dream Continues." The Salvadorian-American joins the Under-16 Chivas USA team.

And farewell to reserve Chivas USA forward John Cunliffe who got shipped off to San Jose for Canadian defensive midfielder Chris Pozniak.

Lastly, Shannon Boxx of Torrance, USC's Amy Rodriguez and UCLA's Lauren Cheney were all named Monday to the U.S. Olympic qualifying squad.

Posted by Nick Green at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Game preview. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.

A (very) little more background on Brazilian midfielder lvaro Pires, signed as expected by the Galaxy Friday in time for today's game, from the team press release:

The 23-year old has trained with the Galaxy for most of the preseason and started all six of the club’s preseason matches, playing 472 minutes in those games, collecting one assist and one caution.

“Alvaro is a player that has been on our radar for some time now and we’re glad to finally have him as a member of the Galaxy,” Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo said. “He has done well so far in our preseason and we feel that he will be a tremendous asset to our club.”

A native of Jardinopolis, Brazil, just outside of Sao Paulo, Pires signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 with Brazilian side Internacional and broke into the first team at the age of 19. He spent three years there, appearing in a handful of games with the First Division team before trying his luck abroad. He signed with Spartak Nalchik, a club in the Russian First Division.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For me, it's already here.

With both the Galaxy and Chivas USA on the road this weekend, it seemed the perfect opportunity to head to Vegas with the soccer widow before weekends become a thing of the past. I don't intend to do too much staring at a computer screen.

So blogging will be minimal to nonexistent, depending on the vagaries of finding Wi-Fi in hotel lobbies or whether a sports book is foolhardy enough during March Madness to show the 6:30 p.m. Galaxy game Saturday from Colorado on Fox Soccer Channel or the noon Sunday Chivas USA opener at Dallas on Telefutura. Regular blogging resumes Tuesday, although I'll have no column this week.

While you await the return of MLS (Houston plays New England in the first nationally televised game in a rematch of MLS Cup at 4 p.m. Saturday on Fox Soccer Channel), enjoy the best of Chivas USA's goals from last season and Galaxy highlights from 2007 (such as they are).

Posted by Nick Green at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Galaxy made official today what was reported here Monday, when forward Bryan Jordan and goalkeeper Josh Wicks joined from the USL Portland Timbers.

The two appeared regularly in preseason games.

“Bryan and Josh have impressed the coaching staff since the beginning of the preseason and have earned the right to be on our roster,” said Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo. “We believe that both players will add depth and quality to our group."

A 22-year old California native, Jordan, 22 scored five times in 26 games for Portland last year after four years at Oregon State.

Wicks, 24, spent the last three years in the USL with Portland and the Vancouver Whitecaps and played four years at Cal State Bakersfield. After winning the 2006 USL Championship with the Whitecaps, he was the USL Goalkeeper of the Year in Portland in 2007 with a 0.60 goals against average.

“Josh came in and has opened a lot of eyes with his play,” Galaxy goalkeeper coach Ian Feuer said. “We knew that we needed someone who could push Steve (Cronin) for the No. 1 spot and he has certainly done that. Not only that, but he has a great attitude, works hard and always livens up the locker room. He will be a tremendous asset to the club.”

Meanwhile, Chivas USA announced the signing of former San Diego State midfielder Kraig Chiles to a developmental contract. He was the club's first draft pick in the supplemental draft.

Finally, those who plan their soccer-viewing at Home Depot Center around the freebies at the gate should know the Galaxy have announced their 2008 loot grab, sorry, promotional schedule.

The opener sees the first 4,000 fans get the latest limited edition "collectible" T-shirt, while 10,000 magnetic Galaxy schedules (always mandatory for the fridge door) will also be given away.

The rest of the incentives:
*April 19 vs. Houston - Galaxy hat.
*May 10 vs. New York - Collector’s series T-Shirt No. 2.
*June 21 vs. Columbus - Galaxy soccer ball No. 1.
*Sept. 6 vs. Real Salt Lake - Collector’s series T-Shirt No. 3.
*Oct. 12 vs. Colorado - Galaxy soccer ball No. 2.

Still no $2 brat and beer night.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For today's column in the Daily News and Daily Breeze I riffed on the return of a changed Carlos Ruiz to the Galaxy.

Omitted from the column for space reasons was Ruiz' penchant for on-field dramatics:

Fans loathe it to such an extent that on Saturday when Lalas addressed season ticket holders and mentioned Ruiz, one fan bluntly asked: “Did you tell him to quit diving?”

The short answer is no (although Lalas acknowledged he cringes on occasion too when Ruiz dives and jokingly suggested acting lessons may be in order).

And the reason why isn’t hard to understand. As Lalas pointed out, the Galaxy come equipped with the world’s best dead ball specialist in Beckham, who can be expected to swerve in a free kick or two stemming from a Fish flop.

The questions remains, though, can Ruiz replicate the form he showed with the Galaxy the first time around?

At least he hooked up well with David Beckham on the Galaxy's recent Asian tour as the video of his hat trick in China showed.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The best deal in MLS - the reserve division - begins play this weekend, too, with the Galaxy's second string facing Colorado.

Until now it's been free admission, free parking and a generally relaxed attitude that enables fans to mingle with established stars returning from injury and up and coming youngsters.

Here's the details on the six home games (10 a.m. at Home Depot Center except where specified) of the 12-game schedule:
Fri., April 4 San Jose Earthquakes.
Sun., June 8 Colorado Rapids.
Fri., July 11 Chivas USA.
2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3 San Jose Earthquakes. (UC-SC Training Field).
Fri., Aug. 15 Chivas USA.
Sun., Sept. 7 Real Salt Lake.
2:30 p.m. Sun., Oct. 26 FC Dallas.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just got back from Galaxy training and thought I'd pass along a couple of items.

On the injury front, defender Julian Valentin is doubtful for this weekend's MLS season opener in Colorado with a right ankle injury he suffered last Thursday; striker Alan Gordon and veteran midfielder Pete Vagenas are listed as probable with a right ankle injury and right quad problem respectively; goalkeeper Charles Alamo and defender Ante Jazic are both out with long-term injuries as most readers already know.

Incidentally, striker Edson Buddle returned to full training today (and was being driven hard by Coach Ruud Gullit in practice) and looked fairly sharp.

Expect a bunch of fairly routine roster moves for the Galaxy this week, which as of today has 19 senior players (and must get down to 18).

No one will be cut, but midfielder Brandon McDonald, defender Michael Gavin and striker Bryan Jordan will all be signed to developmental contracts this week that don't count against the salary cap or senior roster limit.

Backup goalkeeper Josh Wicks of San Bernandino has won a senior roster spot, while Brazilian midfielder Alvaro Pires (technically still a trialist) is awaiting a work visa any day now.

Lastly, striker Carlos Ruiz, held out of the recent game as a precaution when he felt a slight twinge in his hamstring, is good to go this weekend.

I'll have more on the return of Ruiz in Tuesday's column, which I'd better go write.

Posted by Nick Green at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Busy over the Easter weekend?

Here's a recap.

David Beckham is looking at cap No. 100 - and beyond - for England against France Wednesday, Landon Donovan is eying cap No. 99 - and beyond - for the U.S. against Poland the same night, while the U.S. fell to Honduras 1-0 Sunday in a meaningless end to Olympic qualifying in Nashville, Tenn.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The U.S. has already qualified for the Olympics, but plays at 2 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel against Honduras in Nashville for the Under-23 CONCACAF championship.

Not that there's a great deal of cachet in that: Freddy Adu, Charlie Davies, Jonathan Spector and Sal Zizzo flew out Friday to return to their European teams.

Both teams have only conceded one goal in four qualifying games so far and you've got to wonder how interested either will be in breaking an honorable draw.

Chivas USA beat Honduras' Real Espana 4-1 Saturday in Fullerton. And no, ex-Galaxy striker Carlos Pavon did not score for Real Espana.

Details from the Chivas USA press release:

In a match played in Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, Francisco Mendoza and Alecko Eskandarian both marked returns to the Chivas USA lineup after injuries by scoring in the win.

Atiba Harris gave the Red-and-White the 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute when he headed in a perfectly placed Ante Razov cross, sent from almost 40 yards. The goal was the only tally in the first half, and Chivas USA could not break through the Real España defense again until the 68th minute. It was then that Chivas USA’s only selection in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, Keith Savage, dribbled through the defense before hammering home a shot to the near post to give the Red-and-White a 2-0 lead.

Francisco Mendoza, in his first action in a preseason match for Chivas USA in 2008, finished a short pass from Harris in the 72nd minute to add to the lead before Alecko Eskandarian, also recently returning from injury, closed the scoring for the Red-and-White in minute 78. Real España striker Douglas Caetano knocked home a penalty in the 89th minute for a consolation goal.

Chivas USA lineup: (4-4-2): Brad Guzan; Lawson Vaughn, Shavar Thomas, Claudio Suárez, Jonathan Bornstein (Eric Ebert 57); Keith Savage, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza; Atiba Harris (Justin Braun 73), Ante Razov (Alecko Eskandarian 59)

Posted by Nick Green at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More than 4,000 people attended the Galaxy's annual fan fest Saturday at the Home Depot Center.

The free event included a 3-1 Galaxy win over PDL outfit the San Fernando Quakes, with Carlos Ruiz, Michael Gavin and Landon Donovan scoring.

Donovan headed to LAX before the event had even finished to catch an airplane for the U.S. game Wednesday against Poland, while David Beckham was similarly scheduled to fly out to join up with the England squad.

I missed the "fan with biggest Galaxy tattoo" contest unfortunately, but heard Alexi Lalas' address to season ticket holders in the Stadium Club.

Last season was a "hell of a year" Lalas told the crowd , while acknowledging that in their "zeal' to promote the brand with Beckham the Galaxy had overlooked "the product on the field."

He pledged that would be different this year although he again acknowledged the "calculated risk" in tying up much of the salary cap in just three players; Becks, Ruiz and Donovan.

Lalas expanded on the reason for releasing former Newcastle United defender Celestine Babayaro, conceding that his was a "perfect example" of a playing style that didn't fit the team.

"It's difficult, but I'd much rather make that decision now than four or five months down the road," Lalas said.

Posted by Nick Green at 5:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Living up to the hype, Freddy Adu, apparently benefiting from playing in Europe with Portugal's Benfica, led the U.S. to an Olympics berth in a 3-0 win Thursday over out-classed Canada with two goals from set pieces, while Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan added the third.

A reminder: the Galaxy hosts its Fan Fest Saturday.

David Beckham, who will talk to the local media today before jetting off to England, was busy handing out awards this week. Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz was also honored for his contributions to the sport at the event.

Chivas USA has resigned fan favorite 22-year-old Panchito Mendoza, the leader in games and minutes played for the club, and acquired Irvine native and defender Eric Ebert from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for a supplemental draft pick.

The U.S. women have scheduled games April 27 and May 3 against Australia in the first domestic dates of the year in North Carolina and Alabama respectively.

In one of the best bargains in televised sport, the MLS Direct Kick package that gives armchair fans 115 games for $79, is back.

Finally, if you watch just one game this weekend, check out the Chelsea-Arsenal London derby at 9 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Beckham and manager Simon Fuller of "American Idol" fame have an option to buy an MLS team in 2011 when his Galaxy contract expires, according to a "60 Minutes" report scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Neither MLS nor the Galaxy would comment.

Beckham receives a salary of $5.5 million annually and a "large share" of Galaxy ticket, merchandise, and concession sales and Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, the Galaxy's corporate parent, said that despite injuries and limited playing time, Beckham beat financial expectations.

"When we set down on a piece of paper and said to David, 'Here's what we think you can make here,' he did better than that," he said.

Becks also demonstrates his trademark bending free kick and gives a guided tour of his tattoos, for those who care.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Qualification for the Olympics is at stake at 6 p.m. tonight live on Fox Soccer Channel for the U.S. and Canada.

As expected, David Beckham was recalled to the England squad, while the U.S. game against England May 28 in London has been confirmed.

Closer to home, Chivas USA defender Alex Zotinca may be out for the season and the Red & White Wednesday thumped Cal State Fullerton.

Lastly, the Galaxy announced that AM 570 KLAC (home of the Lakers) will broadcast at least 24 games this season.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not strictly LA-soccer related, but a touching piece of journalism that was selected as the winner of the new North American Soccer Reporters group feature story of the year.

Read it here.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several different English media reports indicate David Beckham will win a recall to the England team Thursday when Fabio Capello names his squad for next Wednesday's game in Paris against France. Becks is widely expected to notch his ton of caps in that game and as an added bonus for Galaxy fans will be nice and rested for the MLS season opener that weekend (ahem).

Incidentally, for those who like to get a head start planning this coming weekend, the Galaxy follows last weekend's ChivaFest with their own open house on Saturday.

MLS rivals Chivas USA have launched a new blog called "Inside the Flock," which reports that first-choice goalkeeper Brad Guzan returned to training Tuesday after his injury. Actual information in a blog (Galaxy take note)!

Finally, new Pacific Palisades-based W-League franchise Pali Blues have announced the signings of three more players including former Trojan midfielder Rosie Tantillo.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For Tuesday's column I looked at the on-going struggle of Chivas USA to achieve some sort of critical mass in drawing a fan base.

One point left out of the column for space reasons was whether Chivas USA should own and operate its own stadium. Team President Shawn Hunter indicated that leaving Home Depot Center was a long way down the road for Chivas USA.

"Every team wants to own its own venue," he said. "My first task is to fill this one."

On the player signing front, MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis told reporters on a teleconference call Monday that teams in general are still looking to sign players and he expects more acquisitions.

"We're still early in the cycle for imports," he said, observing MLS has signed 21 foreign recruits since MLS Cup, including 18 from Latin America, where players are technically adept yet relatively inexpensive.

The largest foreign contingent in MLS: Argentines (17) whose physical style of play suits MLS (there are also 10 Brazilians).

Posted by Nick Green at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, not really, but if I called it reheated weekend left-overs you may not be reading.

While Mexico was getting dumped out of the Olympics by Guatemala (who played as big a role in the proceedings as Canada at Home Depot Center) Chivas USA was shutting out minor league team the Fresno Fuego Sunday night 4-0 in a game that saw striker Maykel Galindo sent off.

On target for Chivas USA: Jesse Marsch, Atiba Harris, draft pick Keith Savage and Shavar Thomas.

The Chivas USA line-up: (4-4-2): Sam Reynolds; Jon Bornstein, Shavar Thomas, Claudio Suárez (Bobby Burling 57), Lawson Vaughn; Raphael Wicky (Eric Ebert 69), Jesse Marsch (Jim Curtin 84), Paulo Nagamura, Keith Savage; Atiba Harris (Justin Braun 76), Maykel Galindo.

Meanwhile, the five finalists for "Sueño MLS 2008: The Dream Continues" who will train with Chivas USA Under-16 team for the next two weeks were named Sunday and include a 17-year-old midfielder out of Compton named Juan Moreno.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, apparently spent the weekend trying to control time.

Coming full circle, West Ham United's Jonathan Spector joined the U.S. Under-23 team Sunday ahead of Thursday's Olympic qualifying semifinal with Canada. The winner, of course, goes to China.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy played to a dull scoreless draw in Dallas Saturday, the U.S. made it through to the Olympic qualifying semifinals with a very late goal over Honduras the difference, while Mexico is seeking to ensure it doesn't make an ignominious exit from the competition today at Home Depot Center.

Meanwhile, protests in Tibet against Chinese rule are growing although no one is yet suggesting the Olympics are at risk.

Finally, Chivas USA beat San Diego State 2-1 Saturday in a scrimmage at Home Depot Center.

From the Chivas USA press release:

Chukwudi Chijindu put the Red-and-White ahead just seven minutes into the game when he received a ball from Ante Razov and hammered home a shot to the near post from 12 yards. Chivas USA continued pushing up for goals throughout the first half, and were caught on a quick counter attack by San Diego State in the 27th minute, when Steven Beitashour’s shot was deflected to Daniel Ortega, who finished for the Aztecs to tie the game.

The match went into the half tied at one, but Chivas USA quickly took the lead once the second session started. Razov’s free kick from 25 yards was saved by the Aztec goalkeeper, but the rebound fell to Erasmo Solórzano, who finished easily. The Red-and-White had a number of chances in the rest of the half, with forward Anthony Hamilton hitting the post and Solórzano seeing his header bounce over the net, but the game ended with the 2-1 scoreline.

Chivas USA lineup (4-4-2): Lance Parker; Eric Ebert (Arnaldo Salazar 46), Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Gerson Mayen; Chukwudi Chijindu (Erasmo Solórzano 46), Daniel Paladini, John Cunliffe, Anthony Hamilton; Ante Razov, Justin Braun (Jorge Flores 46).

Chivas is in Fresno today playing PDL team the Fuego.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Briefly:
*The U.S. plays its final Olympic qualifier live at 4 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel against Honduras.

*A reminder that the Galaxy preseason game against FC Dallas will be shown live on the team's Web site at 5:30 p.m. Link is over to the right.

*Chivas has announced one final preaseason game at 6 p.m. next Saturday at Titan Stadium at Cal State Fullerton against ex-Galaxy striker (I use the term loosely) Carlos Pavon and his new team Honduran First Division side Real España.

From the Chivas USA press release:

The match will feature a ceremony prior to the match honoring three members of Honduras ’ 1982 FIFA World Cup team: Gilberto German Yearwood, Jaime Enrique Villegas y Roberto “Macho” Figueroa.

Real España is one of Honduras ’ most popular and successful clubs, having captured the league championship nine times in their history, most recently in 2006-2007. The España roster features forward Carlos Pavón, who was with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 and has 78 appearances and 47 goals with the Honduran National Team. ‘Los Aurinegros,’ or the Gold-and-Black, are currently in second place in the league, with a record of 5-3-3 (W-L-T).

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 dollars at the gate. More info: (310) 467-6637.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It wasn't a thing of a beauty and a Freddy Adu penalty kick was all that separated the teams in the 1-0 win over Panama Thursday, but Coach Peter Nowak's revamped line-up showed more initiative in attack and more resilience in defense in the second Olympic qualifier.

Nowak summed up the difference between the Cuba and Panama games:

“I think we learned from what happened last Tuesday. Everyone was over anxious. I think we were pushing too much just to score goals. I think today the combinations (we’re better) and we just played faster and found the right people at the right time. The timing was good. The build-ups were very effective, so it’s not only the patience. You can be patient, but still develop your game in the right moment at the right speed.”

The U.S. must merely avoid losing Saturday against Honduras to advance to the semifinals.

Honduras, by the way, beat 10-man (yes, you read that right) Cuba.

In Carson tonight, it's Canada vs. Haiti (at 5:30 p.m.) and Mexico vs. Guatemala (at 8 p.m.).

The Galaxy plays in Dallas Saturday with English scouts watching David Beckham and Chivas USA plays San Diego State University at 10 a.m. at Home Depot Center before heading to Fresno Sunday to play the Fuego.

The 5:30 p.m. Galaxy game will be shown on the team's Web site, incidentally.

Also, from noon to 4 p.m. in Carson Saturday, it's ChivaFest.

Finally, the dumb quote of the week award goes to noted ESPN soccer-hater Jim Rome, who oblivious to the sell-out crowds, Beckham jersey sales and general Beckhamania, declares his signing a bust:

"Soccer may be the world sport, but here it ranks right behind darts and just ahead of foosball. It doesn't matter now and it never will. The fact the greatest footballer of them all came here and didn't move the needle at all proves that once again."

Posted by Nick Green at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The second annual version of SuperLiga, the eight-team competition featuring MLS and Mexican teams, has just unveiled its schedule at a Home Depot Center press conference.

Last year, the Galaxy lost in a thrilling final and this version will feature Western Conference champions Chivas USA.

The relevant dates for games in Carson (except where noted):

Sunday July 13 - Chivas USA vs. defending champions Pachuca CF.
Wednesday July 16 - Chivas USA vs. Santos.
Sunday July 20 Chivas USA vs. New England Revolution. (Venue TBD).

Full competition details here.

Posted by Nick Green at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The crowds are already waiting for the gates to open at Home Depot Center for the first of two Olympic qualifiers there tonight, Guatemala against Haiti.

Top billing though goes to the 8 p.m. game between Mexico and Canada.

The San Diego Union-Tribune caught up with Mexico while the team trained in that city while The Toronto Star provides the Canadian perspective.

The Star is also reporting on the opponent for the MLS All-Star Game in Toronto - England's West Ham United.

I'll have more tonight from Carson.

Posted by Nick Green at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The U.S. Women's National Team lifted the Algarve Cup after winning 2-1 over Denmark in Portugal today with Abby Wambach scoring the game winner.

CONCACAF has released the rosters for Mexico and the three other Group B teams in Olympic qualifying that open play tonight at Home Depot Center.

In other women's soccer news, the new Pacific Palisades-based W-League franchise Pali Blues signed a trio of Australian national team players.

The Galaxy announced an 18-game Fox Sports broadcast schedule meaning every Galaxy game this season will be televised.

Finally, sign ups open today for the seventh annual MLS Fantasy Challenge.

Posted by Nick Green at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Starting Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan received confirmation from doctors Monday he had sustained a mild sprain of the MCL in his left knee, which he suffered in training the previous Monday before the team left for a pre-season tournament in Texas.

With an expected recovery time of two to four weeks, if will be touch and go whether Guzan is fit for the Chivas USA MLS opener March 30 away to Dallas, which is less than three weeks away. But Chivas USA officials said Tuesday they were "cautiously optimistic" Guzan will be fit to start.

In his absence, Chivas USA will fill the void at the goalkeeping position - Guzan was the only netminder on the roster - with 22-year-old goalkeeper Lance Parker out of Missouri State.

Parker was signed to a developmental contract Monday, a move the team will formally announce later this afternoon.

Guzan's injury occurred as he attempted to stop a shot with his legs, but the ball struck him awkwardly, causing the sprain.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CONCACAF Olympic qualifying begins tonight with two games including the U.S. against Cuba and I offered a primer in today's column.

CONCACAF has released the rosters for the teams in Group A.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan and his role on the U-23 team is profiled here, although Fontana's Maurice Edu was on Monday named team captain for the tournament.

Lastly, Andrew Sakura, 17, the starting goalkeeper for Palos Verdes High died last weekend after crashing his father's Corvette while speeding. He would have turned 18 later this month.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Already a busy day in soccer so let's get to it:

The U.S. Women's National Team decisively defeated Norway 4-0 Monday to reach Wednesday's Algarve Cup final in Portugal against Denmark.

Former U.S. star Hugo Perez and former U.S. women's Coach Anson Dorrance were elected to the veteran and builder categories respectively, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced today. Palos Verdes' Joy Fawcett was yet again denied entrance, though.

Chivas USA's striking duo of Maykel Galindo and Ante Razov (who scored a goal) started for the first time this preseason, but that wasn't enough to prevent Toronto FC winning 3-2 Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.

Finally, Chivas USA put their single-game tickets on sale today, with seats starting at $14.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Coach Peter Nowak named his 20-man Olympic qualifying roster this afternoon, omitting Rolling Hills Estates' midfielder Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Galaxy defender Mike Randolph, goalkeeper Tally Hall, Derby County midfielder Bennie Feilhaber and FC Dallas' Arturo Alvarez, who were all in the 24-player pre-Olympic qualifying training camp.

Lots of locals on the roster though: Fontana's Maurice Edu, Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and UCLA products Patrick Ianni, Kamani Hill, Marvell Wynne, Chad Barrett and Sal Zizzo as well as former Galaxy player Robbie Findley.

As expected, West Ham United's Jonathan Spector was also drafted in.

Here's the roster and the (edited) U.S. Soccer press release: goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (unattached), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake); Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC); midfielders Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas) Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96); forwards Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake).

The roster features 10 players who have earned full international caps with the senior team led by Jonathan Spector, who has 11 caps.

The U.S. plays Cuba Tuesday, Panama Thursday and Honduras Saturday. All games are at 4 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico play Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at Home Depot Center in Carson.

The top two teams qualify for the Olympics.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy wrapped up their Asian tour with a 2-2 draw (in regulation) against a Hong Kong selection in a game that started Saturday and ended Sunday our time.

For the second time on their three-game tour of Asia, the Galaxy lost on a penalty kick shootout. THe Galaxy's blog has an interesting note on that, by the way.

Coach Ruud Gullit likely won't be as concerned about the loss as he will the total defensive breakdown that led to the only Hong Kong goal from the run of play.

A Brad Guzan-less Chivas USA (the goalkeeper was sent home with an injury) wraps up the tournament in San Antonio today against Toronto FC.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chivas USA lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo in San Antonio on Friday, the Galaxy play the next game of their Asia tour at 11 tonight live on Fox Soccer Channel from Hong Kong where ticket sales have reportedly been poor, the U.S. Women triumphed again in Portugal while the high school soccer season is over.

And so is my posting on a gorgeous day in Southern California. Enjoy the weekend.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chivas USA plays the Houston Dynamo tonight in San Antonio (although due to the state of the field there it's reportedly the reserve squads that will play) and the Galaxy plays the third and final game of its Asian tour live on Fox Soccer Channel at 11 p.m. Saturday (that's a time that screams TiVo).

Still, if you only watch one game this weekend make it Brad Friedel's Blackburn Rovers against FulhamAmerica at 7 a.m. Saturday on FSC as the London team with a large contingent of Americans fights for EPL survival.

The David Beckham Academy in Carson has redesigned its Web site.

And as of Monday, Fox Football Fone-In has moved to a new night and time (the show begins at 5 p.m.).

Finally, prep action from the Daily Breeze is here and here, the Daily News here and the Long Beach Press-Telegram here.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go again.

Reports out of England suggest David Beckham's landmark 100th England appearance could come against France March 26, just three days before the Galaxy's first MLS game of the season in Colorado. More here.

Mexico's Under-23 team, which will play its Olympic qualifiers in Carson, turns out for its final warmup game against Finland tonight in Dallas and hasn't looked good.

Lastly, preps news from the Daily Breeze is here, the Daily News here and the Long Beach Press-Telegram here.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Back after a self-imposed radio silence on (most) of a day off.

Three typically opportunistic Carlos Ruiz strikes saw a largely listless Galaxy beat an "all-star" Chinese squad 3-0 today, the U.S. senior women's team ripped China and Chivas USA lost to D.C. United in Texas two times on what sounded like one unusual day.

Updated: Anaheim's Jorge Flores opened the scoring for Chivas USA with a line-up of largely reserves in the 2-1 loss to D.C. United in San Antonio, Texas.

The Chivas line-up: (4-4-2): Lance Parker; Gerson Mayen, Shavar Thomas, Bobby Burling, Eric Ebert; Jorge Flores, Daniel Paladini, Kraig Chiles , Keith Savage (Chukwudi Chijindu 62); Justin Braun, Anthony Hamilton (Arnaldo Salazar 84).

Posted by Nick Green at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just got off the phone a couple of hours ago with Galaxy staff in China and they tell me they have a 17-man senior roster set that's pretty much the one listed on their (surprise) Web site.

Izzy Sesay though is a developmental player and does not count toward the "cap" or roster.

Injured goalkeeper Charles Alamo is also signed to a developmental deal as previously reported, by the way.

The status of these three is uncertain: goalkeeper Josh Wicks, striker Bryan Jordan and Brazilian midfielder Alvaro Pires.

Expect more deals in the next month. The Galaxy are not done yet.

The Galaxy kick-off their game against the all-star Shanghai Hong Kong United (hopefully they all don't know each other to well) at 8 p.m. Wednesday in China, which is 4 a.m. our time. The game is televised at 8 p.m. here on Fox Soccer Channel.

So I'm going to avoid contact with electronic devices until after the game.

Perhaps not professional blogging behavior, but I'm off work tomorrow anyway and can enjoy the game.

By the way, Pires apparently has no idea why he's called "the buffalo," especially since he's never been called that anywhere before.

My question: if he's Brazilian why does he have two names?

Posted by Nick Green at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today's column looks at Monday's roster and salary budget compliance day in MLS, but it wasn't until this morning that we learned the Galaxy has waived Celestene Babayaro, Kyle Martino and Kelly Gray.

The latter two aren't much of a surprise as the column points out, but Babayaro getting cut is. At age 29, the former Newcastle United defender can't make an MLS team? Salary was undoubtedly an issue, but he hasn't shown an awful lot anyway and the Galaxy don't seem to have room for him on the back line (he played in midfield last weekend).

Here's the (edited) Galaxy release:

The LA Galaxy waived three players on Monday, the day that all teams must be roster and salary budget compliant in accordance with MLS rules. The club has waived midfielders Kelly Gray and Kyle Martino, as well as defender Celestine Babayaro. All three, as well as players waived by each of the other 13 MLS clubs, will be available in an MLS Waiver Draft, which will be held at noon today.

A native of Kaduna, Nigeria, Babayaro had spent the last month training with the Galaxy, playing once in last weekend’s match against FC Seoul. The 29-year old Nigerian had spent time with Belgian club Anderlecht, as well as English sides Chelsea and Newcastle United prior to training with the Galaxy. A Gold Medal winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Babayaro also represented his country at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups.

Gray originally joined the Galaxy on July 3, 2007 in a trade that sent Nate Jaqua to the Houston Dynamo. A six-year MLS veteran, he appeared in six regular season games, as well as three SuperLiga matches and one Open Cup game for the Galaxy last year, but missed most of the final two months of the year with a pair of calf injuries.

Martino played in 35 games in a year and a half with the Galaxy, scoring three goals and adding two assists. The 2002 MLS Rookie of the Year with the Columbus Crew, Martino led all Galaxy field players with 26 appearances for the club in the 2007 regular season, as well as playing three times in SuperLiga and three times in the Open Cup, where he scored once.

Meanwhile, over in China it really is Beckhamania.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

MLS teams grappling with today's roster and salary budget compliance deadline didn't generate much news, with few teams actually announcing their cuts (including the Galaxy).

I'll have more on that in Tuesday's column, but I can tell you that Chivas USA didn't have to make any cuts since they have just 17 senior players on their roster. (Defender Bobby Burling, striker Anthony Hamilton and Jorge "Sueno" Flores - who has been playing at left back during preseason - are developmental players who don't count toward the 18-player senior roster).

Presumably, Chivas USA will add another goalkeeper, a critical need if starter Brad Guzan can secure a work permit in England during the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA left today for a preseason tournament in Texas.

From the Chivas USA press release:

Chivas USA Head Coach Preki has selected 28 players to travel to San Antonio this week for the Texas Pro Soccer Festival. Chivas USA departed today for San Antonio, where it will play three games, against Major League Soccer opponents D.C. United Wednesday, the Houston Dynamo Friday and Toronto FC Sunday.

The roster: goalkeepers Brad Guzan, Lance Parker, Sam Reynolds; defenders Jonathan Bornstein, Bobby Burling, Jim Curtin, Jorge Flores, Claudio Suárez, Shavar Thomas, Lawson Vaughn, Alex Zotinca; midfielders Kraig Chiles, John Cunliffe, Eric Ebert, Luciano Fusco, Jesse Marsch, Gerson Mayen, Paulo Nagamura, Daniel Paladini, Keith Savage, Raphaël Wicky; forwards Justin Braun, Chukwudi Chijindu, Maykel Galindo, Anthony Hamilton, Atiba Harris, Arnaldo Salazar, Ante Razov.

Chivas USA midfielder Francisco Mendoza (groin strain) and forward Alecko Eskandarian (groin strain) will stay behind in Southern California as they continue their respective rehabs. Also absent: midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who is currently with the United States Under-23 National Team in Florida as it prepares for Olympic qualifying.

By the way, for those who keep track of these things "Sueño MLS 2008: The Dream Continues" is down to its final 18 players, who will play at Home Depot Center March 13.

Over in Galaxyland, Coach Ruud Gullit is reportedly upset with the state of the pitch the Galaxy will play on Wednesday.

"The pitch is in bad shape and dangerous, there were stones and bones, shells, everything was on the pitch. It is pretty difficult to play on it, so I hope they can clean it," he said.

Finally, Fox Soccer Channel will show all of the U.S. men's Olympic qualifying games.

From the press release:

Fox Soccer Channel will show a total of seven qualifying matches, including all three of the USA’s first-round matches, semifinals, third-place and championship match.

All three U.S. matches in Group A will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., with the U.S. taking on Cuba at 5 p.m. March 11, Panama at 5 p.m. March 13 and Honduras at 4 p.m. March 15.

Group B features Canada, Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico facing off on March 12, 14 and 16 at Home Depot Center.

Fox Soccer Channel will broadcast both semifinal games at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. March 20, along with the third-place match at 11 a.m. and the final at 2 p.m. March 23.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you watched the 11:30 p.m. Galaxy-FC Seoul game on Fox Soccer Channel last night you know LA salvaged a rather uninspiring 1-1 tie in regulation time to kick off their Asian Tour.

Yet if you read this story you know the Galaxy actually lost on penalty kicks, something neither alluded to or shown on FSC.

More than a little strange.

Also, preps coverage from the Daily Breeze is here.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When Canadian midfielder Kevin Harmse returned back to the U.S. from Hawaii and was not included in the Galaxy's Asian tour it seemed likely he was on the trading block.

On Friday, the 23-year-old Harmse was duly sent back home to Toronto FC in exchange for a fourth round 2009 draft pick.

“We are looking forward to getting Kevin here with us, he’s a tough young Canadian player, and he adds some quality depth to the team,” said Toronto Manager Mo Johnston. “His versatility will certainly help the squad this season.”

From the (edited) Galaxy press release:

In his first year with the Galaxy in 2007, Harmse appeared in 17 regular season games, making 13 starts and scoring one goal. He officially signed with the club on April 12 and made his debut that evening against FC Dallas. He scored his only league goal in his next MLS appearance, scoring the game-winning goal in the 3-1 win over Chivas USA in the Honda SuperClasico. Harmse, who has six caps for Canada, also appeared in four SuperLiga matches, scoring once in the 6-5 win at FC Dallas, as well as two U.S. Open Cup games for the Galaxy

Harmse, who has six caps for Canada, spent the 2006 season in Europe with FC Nitra in Slovakia. The Vancouver native played for his hometown Whitecaps in 2004 and 2005.

Meanwhile, the trade gives the Galaxy five draft picks next year, including one picked up earlier from Chivas USA.

And speaking of Chivas USA, Maykel Galindo returned to score in one of two scrimmages the team had today with college teams at Home Depot Center.

From the Chivas USA press release:

In the first game of the morning, Chivas USA earned a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside, thanks to a goal from Claudio Suárez. The Red-and-White used goals from Maykel Galindo and Kraig Chiles in the second game to take a 2-1 win over UC Irvine.

The first game, which ran for two 35 minute halves, featured the return to competitive play of a number of Chivas USA players. Jonathan Bornstein started at left back for the Red-and-White, Paulo Nagamura was in the center of the midfield, and was replaced in the second half by Lawson Vaughn. It was the first taste of game action in 2008 for all three.

The only goal of the first game came in the 59th minute, when a rebound from Ante Razov’s free kick fell to the feet of Claudio Suárez, who had charged in on goal after the initial shot. The team’s captain finished from close range to give Chivas USA the win.

The Red-and-White used a different group of players in the second game, and was able to come away with another one-goal win. After going into the half down a goal, Maykel Galindo and Kraig Chiles each scored to give Chivas USA the 2-1 victory. Chiles also played an excellent ball to Galindo on the first goal, and Jorge Flores notched the assist on Chiles’ goal. The match was played with two 40-minute halves.

Chivas USA will soon head to San Antonio for next week’s Texas Pro Soccer Festival, where the team will face off against D.C. United, the Houston Dynamo, and Toronto FC.

Chivas USA lineup for game one:

Chivas USA (4-4-2): Brad Guzan; Alex Zotinca, Claudio Suárez, Jim Curtin, Jonathan Bornstein; Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch, Paulo Nagamura (Lawson Vaughn 46), Raphaël Wicky (Luciano Fusco 46); Ante Razov, Atiba Harris.

Game two: Chivas USA (4-4-2): Sam Reynolds (Lance Parker 40); José Antonio Patlán, Daniel Carlos Montes, Bobby Burling, Jorge Flores; John Cunliffe, Eric Ebert, Lawson Vaughn (Kraig Chiles 40), Luciano Fusco (Gerson Mayen 40); Maykel Galindo (Justin Braun 47), Chukwudi Chijinju.

Posted by Nick Green at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Galaxy plays live at 11:30 tonight on Fox Soccer Channel against FC Seoul in the first game of their Asia tour.

The Daily Telegraph in England has more on the David Beckham buzz in South Korea.

Galaxy PR folks reminded me that the team has four players (and one coach) who particpated in the 2002 World Cup in Korea: Becks, Landon Donovan (who is back here in the U.S. for treatment and won't play tonight), Abel Xavier, Celestine Babayaro and now Assistant Coach Cobi Jones. Strangely, they all played against each other in the first round of that World Cup - Jones and Donovan beat Xavier and Portugal 3-2 while Beckham and England drew Babayaro's Nigeria 1-1.

Here at home, last year's Big West Goalkeeper of the Year, Galaxy draft pick Charles Alamo (UC Riverside) goes under the knife today, a week after tearing his ACL, a team spokesman e-mailed from Korea. Alamo is out for the year, but remains with the team after the Galaxy offered him a contract the same day the injury happened.

Injured defender Ante Jazic, remains in Korea to continue his rehab work with trainers Armando Rivas and Cecelia Gutierrez, as suspected, team officials confirmed.

Meanwhile, former Galaxy prospect Dan Paladini has resurfaced with Chivas USA. Former Galaxy midfielder Santino Quaranta has returned to D.C. United in an effort to resucitate his career. And, yes, Landon Donovan is the U.S. leading scorer after all FIFA confirmed today.

Finally, there's preps news from the Daily Breeze here.

Posted by Nick Green at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When you start the day with a 7 a.m. talk to Rotarians, things just go downhill from there.

So, to bring us up to speed, the Galaxy have announced their 21-player roster for their Asian tour: goalkeepers Steve Cronin, Josh Wicks; defenders Celestine Babayaro, Sean Franklin, Michael Gavin, Ante Jazic, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts, Julian Valentin, Greg Vanney, Abel Xavier; midfielder Ely Allen, Alvaro, David Beckham, Chris Klein, Brandon McDonald, Josh Tudela, Peter Vagenas; forwards Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan, Carlos Ruiz.

Goalkeeper Charles Alamo, forwards Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan and Israel Sesay and midfielders Kelly Gray and Kevin Harmse have all returned to Los Angeles.

Donovan has patella tendonitis in his right knee, although he's expected to be fit for the start of the MLS season; Buddle is expected to miss approximately six weeks after suffering a dislocation of his right collarbone during the second half of the Galaxy’s 2-1 win over Sydney FC; and as previously reported Alamo is out six months after suffering a serious knee injury in a scrimmage against the Dyanamo.

Are Izzy, Gray and Harmse all on the outs with new Coach Ruud Gullit? No reason was given for their early flight home.

Galaxy single game tickets go on sale Friday, incidentally.

By the way, MLS Commish Don Garber is expected to formally announce Thursday that Philadelphia will snag the next MLS team.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Beckham and the Galaxy (in that order) arrived in Korea and spoke at a press conference Wednesday managing to say nothing we haven't heard before, although at least fashion is number two for Becks behind soccer.

Back in the U.S., Men's Under-23 National Team Coach Peter Nowak has named camp selections for the Olympic qualifying roster, although it's widely expected he'll add the European-based likes of Jonathan Spector and Michael Bradley for the games in March.

Local interest: Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers, Fontana's Maurice Edu, the Galaxy's Mike Randolph, Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and UCLA products Sal Zizzo, Marvell Wynne, Patrick Ianni and Chad Barrett are all on the roster.

The full roster: goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (Chicago Fire), Tally Hall (Esbjerg fB), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake); defenders Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Kamani Hil (Vfl Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Mike Randolph (LA Galaxy), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC); midfielders Arturo Alvarez (FC Dallas), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96); forwards Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake).

Ten players on the roster have earned caps with the U.S. National Team.

Finally, Pacific Palisades-based W-League team Pali Blues announced the signing of UCLA goalkeeper Valerie Henderson and English Under-19 Team goalkeeper Karen Bardsley from Chino Hills.

Posted by Nick Green at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

With Fidel Castro stepping down, it seemed like a good time to check in on Chivas USA's Cuban defector Maykel Galindo who resumes scrimmaging with the team today after off-season sugery.

The column is here.

Galindo had a league-leading five games in which he scored multiple goals last season including these typical strikes against the Galaxy.

Incidentally, while I was out at Home Depot Center Monday chatting with Maykel (the sort of guy it would be fun to hang with for a mojito or two, by the way), former Chivas USA assistant coach Martin Vazquez, who joins Bayern Munich in the same role in July, was spotted heading into the team's offices. Vazquez, inundated by interview requests from around the world, according to team officials, wisely isn't talking to the media until he begins work.

Meanwhile, Galaxy goalkeeper Charles Alamo is out for the season.

The Galaxy's parent company, Anschutz Entertainment Group, looks to make a nice profit by selling an interest in the Houston Dynamo to boxer Oscar de la Hoya. It's a move that can only be good for MLS, as the league looks to diversify its investor groups.

Finally, it's Tuesday and that means preps coverage from the Daily Breeze here and the Daily News.

Posted by Nick Green at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Light and late blogging, let's play catch-up:

All three games - another against a Hong Kong team was added today - on the Galaxy's Asian tour are televised on Fox Soccer Channel.

From the Galaxy's press release:

The LA Galaxy announced today that they will play a preseason friendly 11 p.m. March 9 against the Hong Kong Union in Hong Kong in the third and final match of the club’s Asia Tour 2008.

Fox Soccer Channel begins coverage 11:30 p.m. Saturday with the Galaxy-FC Seoul match, followed four days later by an 8 p.m. tape delayed broadcast of the game against Shanghai-Hong Kong United.

Also, former Galaxy flop Santino Quaranta has resurfaced in D.C.

Fontana's Maurice Edu is profiled.

The Women's Olympic Qualifying groups are set, although you don't really need to pay attention (read the last graf). From the U.S. Soccer press release:

The U.S. has been drawn into Group A along with Jamaica and Mexico for 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying from April 2-12 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The U.S. will open the tournament April 4 against Jamaica before facing Mexico April 6. Both games will be played in the Estadio Olímpico Benito Juarez, which will host all 10 games during the qualifying tournament.

The top two teams from Group A will advance to the semifinals, where they will cross over to face the top two teams from Group B, which includes Canada, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. The winners of the April 9 semifinals will qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

The U.S. has only faced Jamaica once previously, a 10-0 victory 14 years ago in a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying match in Montreal, Canada. Mexico is a more familiar opponent for the U.S., with the teams having faced each other 22 times previously. The U.S. has dominated the rivalry with the qualifying hosts, winning the first 21 meetings before Mexico earned a 1-1 tie on Oct. 20, 2007.

Finally, (and this is sorta old, but so is the rest of this post) from this link you've gotta wonder who is getting traded next.

Tuesday's column: Chivas USA Cuban defector Maykel Galindo and the departure of Castro.

Posted by Nick Green at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Galaxy wins, Chivas USA loses and Long Beach State cancels.

Back Monday.

Posted by Nick Green at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Galaxy-Sydney

The island newspapers are avoiding much mention of the event and even the increasingly secretive Galaxy seem uninterested; no press releases or updates to the club blog. Deep discounts on tickets too.

Here's a preview (such as it is).

Chivas USA-Crew

From the Chivas USA press release:

All proceeds from the match will benefit the Michael Hoefflin Foundation, a non-profit which provides financial and emotional support to children and their families facing childhood cancer in Santa Clarita and the surrounding area.

The match will be played in Cougar Stadium at the College of the Canyons in Valencia, and tickets are available at prices of $20 for adults and $15 for children.

Fans should note that, due to the Tour of California cycling race, there will be a number of road closures and detours in the area near the College of the Canyons. These will occur mostly prior to game-time, but full information can be found on the City of Santa Clarita’s Web site.

The Crew played Friday night against the San Jose Earthquakes in San Luis Obispo and so are likely to rest Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers and Argentine Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Coach Sigi Schmid said via e-mail. He expects to mix and match different combinations tonight.

Sigi recommends fans keep an eye out for newcomer Nigerian attacking midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo who is on trial with the club.

The long-time South Bay resident and former Galaxy coach has also offered to blog occasionally this season and so I thought I'd get that into print and hold him to it.

The Crew also plays the Ventura County Fusion Monday in Ventura.

Preps Update

Posted by Nick Green at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new Upper Deck Retail Store opened today in Huntington Beach, which if not actual cause for excitement on a slow news day at least gives me an excuse to blog about the the company's newest set of MLS cards. Issued after the end of the season (so we get a now-retired Eddie Pope in action, for instance on card 88), the cards have some (usually incomplete) stats, pallid text and reasonable photography.

The 200-plus set includes the David Beckham "rookie" card pictured below as well as the likes of Freddy Adu and the n