My Take: DC United 4 -1 Toronto FC

Now that is how you start a game! I had barely hit my seat when we were all cheering for MVP's goal in the second minute. Santino scoring in the fifth minute was the perfect dagger for a really bad Toronto side.

Not to take anything away from United's offensive explosion, but Toronto really didn't look that great last night. Getting the stupid Red Card in the 22nd minute really didn't help the Canadian's either. For as bad as Toronto looked, United looked amazing.

I called for Santino to get the start over Niell and I am was happy to see him on the pitch at the opening whistle, as he deserved it with how well he has done recently. He has picked his game up so much since returning. The payoff came quick for Santino with his first goal of the season. United over all looked like a much faster and deadlier unit with Santino up front with Emillio.

With all the goals and shots, I would have to say that the most reassuring part of watching last night's match was that our defense continued to show that it has a much better shape than the one we had last season. Peratla and Martinez in the middle, along with Simms in front of them, have been massive in shutting down threats to Zach's goal. Wells looked very strong last night. The 88th minute goal was a last second flub to a great match, but I honestly have to figure that goal came from more of a mental break down of the whole team, rather than the goal keeper.

We have picked up our first 3 points of the season and our first home win. We were able to pull Gallardo, & Emillio early in the second half, as well as get Niell and Moreno time out on the pitch. All of this is building to the Wednesday night match against Pachuca. We still have that 2-0 hole to climb out of. Pachuca is no where near the club that Toronto FC was, they will be ready to play. If we play against Pachuca, they way we played against Toronto FC, we stand a much better chance of climbing out of that hole and making it to the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals, but we still have work to do.

West Ham are in 1st... in the MLS Western Conference

I decided to randomly check the MLS standings today and I saw this on Fox Sports -

If you look closer -

Now I know why MLS is having West Ham for the All Star game... They are joining the Western Conference!!!

MLS All Star Game announced: vs. West Ham

MLS announced what most people heard a while back: that West Ham will face the MLS All Stars in the 2008 All Star game in Toronto.

In no offense to West Ham or it's supporters (especially this one) but I still cannot understand why MLS had to "settle" for West Ham. If MLS couldn't get one of the larger clubs from Europe or South America to use this game as a season warm up, they should have canceled or just set up another East vs. West match. I say settle because we have played two of the larger European clubs before, Chelsea and Celtic. I am sure that SUM could have tossed a few million at Liverpool or Bayern Munich to make the trip. Adidas sponsors both of those clubs as well as MLS, so they could have helped broker the deal.

The All Star Game in general doesn't make sense for me anymore, but this years opponent makes even less sense, given the recent opponents.

MLS All Stars vs. West Ham????

WTF???

I thought the idea of the All Star games with guest clubs was to bring over a foreign club that has some type of star quality. Chelsea made sense, as did Celtic. Playing Chivas was a perfect match as Chivas USA was announced right around that match. Hell, playing Fulham made sense as Brian McBride was on the squad then.

So other than playing against Jonathan Spector, why would MLS/SUM be lining up West Ham for the All Star Game?

I have said it before and I will say it again, the All Star game needs to be retired. If MLS cannot convince one of the larger clubs that will be touring the US during the summer, then don't have the match. If MLS announced that Bayern Munich or Liverpool were scheduled, that would be a much better match than watching a mid-level club that has no real connection to MLS take on a less than All Star squad.

Please say that this is false.

SuperLiga Groups Announced... sort a.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the 2008 North American SuperLiga participants have been decided and groups have been drawn.

Group A
- PUMAS
- New England Revolution
- Chivas USA
- Atlante

Group B
- Houston Dynamo
- Chivas de Guadularara
- Pachuca
- DC United

DC United will host all of their matches at RFK Stadium.

It does appear that the actual schedule for this tournament has yet to be determined, as DC United's schedule only has the All Star game listed for July. Now unless MLS has finally realized that a month break in the summer would actually help the quality of play in the league (which I doubt that they would ever do) the lack of schedule matches for July leads me to believe that SuperLiga will take place in July, but they aren't sure as to when exactly. Houston only has one match listed on their schedule, as does New England. Chivas USA have two on their schedule.

All in all, the group looks very tough, so the guys who do take part in the group stage matches should have good matches. I assume that Tom Soehn's priority list for 2008 might look a little like this:

1a. CONCACAF Champions Cup (as it comes first)
1b. MLS Cup
2. Supporters Shield
3. CONCAF Champions League
4. SuperLiga Championship
5. US Open Cup

I haven't heard or seen anything either for or against this, but as the CONCACAF Champions League will be taking place during the same time frame as the CONMEBOL Copa Nissan Sudamericana, I would assume that CONCACAF clubs will not be taking part in that tournament any longer. I will keep an eye out for this one.

I am one of those people who actually likes the SuperLiga. Yes, it is a made up tournament, but most tournaments have to start somewhere. Yes, the matches don't truly test the MLS clubs as they do not have the travel "quirks" of heading to Mexico for group matches. All in all, as I said last year, the tournament is a very good idea and has to begin somewhere.

I would ultimately like to see the group stages involve 6 games, 3 home and 3 away. unfortunately, this type of thing will not be done until MLS rosters get larger and the salary caps get bigger. MLS clubs would pass out if they had the mid week travel matches in Mexico, then the MLS matches, then right afterwards the CONCACAF Champions League matches, which will require more travel matches.

Until MLS increases the roster sizes and the salary caps, the SuperLiga, in its current format, is a good stepping stone to giving more MLS clubs exposure to matches outside of MLS. This is a good start.

Emilio adds MVP to Golden Boot

As first reported by Steve Goff earlier today, Luciano Emilio was named the 2007 MLS MVP, beating out Juan Pablo Angel & Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Emilio won the MLS Golden Boot earlier this year as he won the MLS regular season scoring title with 20 goals.

Congratulations to Emilio, he deserves this honor. I was a little worried that he would get the shaft and either Angel or Blanco would be named to the award. I don't think that a guy who plays half a season should be considered for the MVP award, regardless of what he did in that half season. I would have honestly had no problem with Angel winning, they guy was remarkable on a horrible side. All that said, I am happy that Emilio won.

So last year Christian won the MVP award and now Emilio wins this years MVP award. I would honestly trade both Emilio's MVP award & Christian's award to be able to see DC United play this Sunday in RFK Stadium and pick up their 5th title. Individual awards are nice, but there is no I in team. LaDainian Tomlinson had a commercial where he said that you are only remembered by the number of championships you have. Winning the MLS Cup means more than an MVP award, at least in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy that Emilio won, I am just tired of seeing our guys win post season awards without finishing the march to a 5th ring. Hopefully we will see one of our guys win next years award as they are training for the 2008 MLS Cup.

MLS Thoughts....

So we are now heading into the swan song of the 2007 MLS season. The Conference finals were damn near replica's of last seasons conference finals. Taylor Twellman scores a highlight reel goal to carry the Revolution into the finals, this time their third straight. On the other side of things, Houston marches in to the finals to face their foe from last year. Funny how we go the entire season to find the same two teams in the finals, again.

So Seattle will join the league in 2009? Interesting choice, one that I think will be good for the league. One would assume that with Seattle joining in 2009, MLS will also be bringing in an Eastern Conference club to balance out the league, Philly or St. Louis? Adding teams increases the profile of the league, but in order to do this right, Garber & Co. are going to have to look at making other types of increases along with the league size.

The main increase that the league is going to have to do is increase the salary cap. I think, that the salary cap is right around $2.9 million, but I am not sure. In order for the league to truly continue to grow, not only domestically, but regionally and truly internationally, the salary cap is going to have to get a bump, at least up to something like $4.2 million a season. Doing that will allow for larger squads and for real salaries, two things that will help the clubs handle the regular season and help them make their stand internationally. When It is no longer a better option to decline an MLS contract and go and play for more money in the USL, then MLS will truly be on a good foundation. When clubs will not live or die through one or two players, then the clubs will be able to compete regularly in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Sudamericana, the USOC & the SuperLiga without having to pick and choose which to throw away.

I am happy that the league is expanding, it shows that the league has moved past the quick hits and is ready to be here for a long time. I just think that the league needs to start addressing the players more, in order to attract the best that we can get.

Yallop Out in LA

The first step in the off season moves for the LA Galaxy has been taken; Frank Yallop is out as Head Coach. It looks as if he resigned from his position because the San Jose Earthquakes bought out his contract from the Galaxy, which makes Yallop the new Head Coach in San Jose.

This doesn't shock anyone. Yallop has had one foot out the door since the middle of the season and when San Jose was announced as the next expansion club, Yallop was an obvious choice for the top job in San Jose. Now the big question will be is who the Galaxy get to replace him. With David Beckham and Landon Donvovan being the central players in the club, the need for a high profile manager is definitely in the cards. Expect to hear Lalas refer to his club as the "Crown Jewel" of MLS at least once, maybe twice whenever the announcement is made.

For my money, I wouldn't be shocked if Klinsmann is named the new head coach. If that happens, expect a very different Landon Donovan for both the league, and the USMNT, that is if Donovan isn't shipped off to New York or San Jose.

Match Recap: DC United 0 - 0 Chicago Fire

I had to wait until today to write this as I didn't want to rant and rave about how pissed I was at how horrible DC United played last night.

In any case, here I go anyhow....

I don't remember seeing United play that badly since last season. With the exception of Troy (who was HUGE in goal last night) the rest of the side really failed to do pretty much anything other than take up space. Yes we shut down Mr. White, but despite Clyde and Brian Carroll marking him very well, Blanco wasn't doing anything that was that dangerous, unless him flopping to the ground is dangerous to the new grass (field looks nice btw).

Our passing was horrible, as it seemed that ever time a United player tried to pass, they thought that United was wearing it's road white jersey's. Chicago was able to pick off so many passes last night that it looked like we were passing to them. Our offense was just as bad, as we couldn't get any type of service in to Emillio. Kpene was just as bad last night as he was in the first half of the Toronto FC match. I saw that he had his hand wrapped in ice after halftime, I hope he is alright.

How can one team allow 11 shots in the first half? Troy should have been exhausted at halftime, yet he came out for the second half and pulled off yet another spectacular performance. The entire club should be buying him dinner next week.

We aren't that bad a club when we are only missing Moreno. We beat New England 3-0 in New England without Jamie and I have seen the rest of the club produce when he was out, but last night it looked like we couldn't make anything happen up top. I am hoping that United takes care of this in the off season and picks up another forward that can actually do something... maybe trade for Kenny Cooper?

Sara mentioned to me as we left last night, "It's better than a loss, yeah?"

I guess so. In the scheme of the Supporters Shield, it is almost like a loss. Chivas USA dropped two points Thursday night and without Razov tonight, they "might" drop two more, but I don't expect them to. That means in order to win the Supporters Shield, United must win next Saturday at home against a Columbus Crew side that has nothing to lose and who just knocked off the Revolution last night. If United plays as they did last night, then Chivas has a very, very good chance of picking up the Supporters Shield.

Hopefully Jamie will return from World Cup Qualifying (Bolivia lost 5-0 btw) and brings that panache back.

MLS Thursday Night: 9/27/2007

I tried to watch the MLS Thursday Night match on ESPN last night. I really did. Unfortunately after watching the first twenty minutes of seeing neither side honestly try to do anything that resembled offensive soccer, Spies Like Us & Beerfest on HBO seemed so much of a better idea. I found myself switching back and forth between these three shows, but the soccer game never really got me to put the remote down.

Of what I saw, here are the interesting points:
- LA is pretty bad. They could barely get 1 goal when they had a 2 man advantage.

- Arnaud's and Conrad's Red cards should actually cost the Wizards 6 points. The two man advantage finally gave the Galaxy enough space to find their goal. On top of that, neither player will be available for the 10/5 match against DC United. It is hard to believe that the Wizards will be able to contain Emillio, Fred & Gomez without Conrad holding the back line.

- When did Cobi get his first name on the back of his jersey? The three "wise men" mentioned something that Cobi isn't retiring after this season? WTF?

- The scariest thought of all...that the Galaxy might actually be able to make the playoffs. They have to most likely win 4 out of their final five matches, which as they are playing Columbus and Toronto as two of those final five, if there is such a thing as a gimme for the Galaxy, those two matches would be them. They also face the Red Bulls, so in that match, anything is possible. They do have to travel to Houston, which isn't the easiest place to play in. I expect a Houston win in that one. The final match is against the Fire. As the Fire are fighting for the final playoff spot as well, this last match could be the clincher for either club. I honestly think that the Galaxy will go 2-2-1 in their final five matches and miss the playoffs.

DC United/MLS Thoughts

With DC United off this weekend, I spent more time watching College Football than I did paying attention to MLS league play. I did manage to switch back and forth between watching USC destroy Nebraska and Chicago fight back for a 2-2 draw with RBNY. Nothing really stood out in my mind from both clubs in this match; yes Chicago fought while they were down a man and Blanco seems to be pulling all the strings for the Fire, but nothing really made me feel that either club were that impressive.

I did see that Chivas USA were held 1-1 against Colorado, which means that they dropped two points off the Supporters Shield pace with DC United. To add insult to injury, Houston dropped 3 goals on the LA Pub team (LA Galaxy) to clinch the first Western Conference playoff berth and to move 1 point ahead of Chivas USA into first in the West. DC united are still first in the entire league with 49 points. New England is second with 45 points, with Houston tied with them on points, but having played one more match than New England and DC. Chivas USA and FC Dallas round out the top five, with 44 & 39 points respectively.

DC United has 5 matches remaining in the league; away to Chicago (9/23), home with Toronto FC (9/29), away to Kansas City (10/5), home with Chicago (10/13) and home with Columbus(10/20). United also have two matches scheduled for the Copa Nissan Sudamericana against Chivas de Guadalajara; at home (9/26) & away (10/2). If we advance against Chivas, then a match up against either Arsenal (Argentina) or Goias EC (Brazil) on 10/10 & 10/31, which would provide some logistical issues with the MLS Playoffs.

Match Recap: DC United 2 - 1 Real Salt Lake

That is a result I will take.

Considering the fact that United was playing it's third match in seven days, considering that Jamie Moreno was away in Peru losing 2-0 with the Bolivian National Team, and considering the recent history between these two clubs; I wasn't expecting much from this match. Tired legs going against a club that has had United's number and have recently figured out how to score, it didn't look pretty.

Neither did the actual game, nor did the officiating.

DC United picked up all three points last night by being able to adapt to its situation, an ability that good teams have and call upon when they aren't able to bring out the skill. United did that last night. Playing their third game in seven days, fourth in a week and a half, United had to adapt to everything around them. The United team of last year, be it because of coaching decisions or something else, never really showed that at this point in the season, it could adapt well to its situations, and just ran out there with the same players and was losing. This side is a little different in that area.

Emilligoal is still dropping goals like they are going out of style. 19 goals for the season definitely shows that reaching the United record of 23 set by Raul Diaz Arce is no longer just probable, but more likely going to get busted. He keeps this pace up and the Golden Boot might have to be renamed the "Emilliboot."

Gomez came to life last night scoring the game winner and setting up Emillio's goal in the first half. His PK goal wasn't exactly something for the highlight reels, unless those are showcasing Nick Rimondo's skills. I honestly think that Emillio should have taken the PK, as it would have given him a clear chance for 6 in three matches, #20 for the season and Emillio is someone who Nick is not as familiar with. You have got to believe that Nick has a better understanding of which way Gomez takes PK's more than Emillio does, as they were teammates for a few years. That is the same reason why I thought it was wrong for Esky to take RSL's PK. How many times had Troy faced Esky in training when practicing PK's?

Due to Moreno's absence, there was a definite lack of "presence" in the United formation. I am not really 100% sure what to call what Moreno brings to the side, be it form or composure or vision; but whatever it is, it was abundantly clear that United didn't have much of any of those skills last night. In all reality, United played the first half much like they did right after the 3-3 draw with Dallas. The main thing is that the team has figured out how to adapt to not having Moreno on the field to hold the ball or provide a pass or such. Because of this, United is winning bad matches.

On a different note, last night's match was a second straight match were I saw the officials run a match one sided. I didn't want to comment on the way that Okulaja officiated Sunday's match against the Revolution, namely because we were able to still light up the Revs defense. However, last night's match was damn near criminal. I can't believe how may times I saw Benny get hacked, or clipped or such. He caught an elbow to the eye and Gonzalez never even stopped play until it looked like Benny wouldn't get up. Benny goes up for a header near the RSL goal, and he gets a Yellow card for a 50/50 ball. What the hell did Gonzalez see as McTavish was thrown to the ground like a WWE move, to warrant the RSL PK? There were also several horrible offside's calls, where I could see guys being held onside from my seat in the 234 section, but the linesmen missed on the field. If there is one thing that either MLS or the USSF do during the off season, it should be to get better and proper training for their officials. Ok, I am done with that topic.

So now United are off for 11 days and return with an away match in Chicago to deal with. Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez and Fred are all going to be out due to "MLS Sponsored Holiday's" for their Yellow cards from last night. Baring any injury while in Peru, Moreno should be back with the club, which along with the return of Josh Gros to the line-up, leaves Tom Soehn less short handed than it would appear. Right after the Chicago match, United return to RFK for the first leg of their match up with CD Chivas de Guadalajara in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Considering that guys like Gomez, Olsen and Fred will have had two weeks off from match play, I have got to like our chances in that match.

So we have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs and are now seven points ahead of New England in the East (with 1 more match played than NE), seven points ahead of Houston for the Supporters Shield (equal number of matches played) and nine points ahead of Chivas USA (with three more matches played, so could be even). As United takes some time off, the Supporters Shield and playoff race should start to get even clearer.

Other thoughts on last nights match here, here, here and here.

Match Recap: DC United 4 - 2 New England Revolution

Well, that was a fun game.

Back from a very warm and humid RFK Stadium, digesting the 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution is a difficult one. So many things stand out from this match. Where does one begin?

As a whole, the team looked better than they did against Chivas on Thursday night. Our players didn't look like they only had 20 minutes of soccer in them and kept the pressure going, culminating with Fred's goal in the 30th minute. Twellman's goal to finish the first half was unfortunate and really was a cause for concern.

The second Revolution goal came from sloppy defensive play in front of the United goal. However, as we have seen several times before, the entire tempo of the match changed once Ben Olsen stepped on the field. His play on the right side on place of Fred gave United the swift kick in the ass to get the go ahead goal.

However, (and I cannot believe that I am typing this) the final nail was hammered in when Brian Carroll was brought on for Clyde Simms. Carroll is no favorite of mine and infact, before today, I would have been happy to see him be shipped off to San Jose. Today however, the guy stepped up and showed signs of his former self. Yes, the first play he was involved in after coming onto the field resulted in a Revolution free kick, but starting with that amazing run right up the left side of the field and the cross to Emillio's forehead, Carroll played completely different than he had over the last few months. He was making the great defensive stops in the midfield and tracking back to assist the back line. He was hustling to the ball and making better passes. The Brian Carroll that played today needs to stay; the Brian Carroll that had been riding the pine for the last few matches needs to stay away.

It was good to finally see Jamie get a non-PK goal, but I really think he could have had one more goal today. Jamie seems more interested, even when standing in front of the goal on the 6 yard line, with passing to someone else. It wasn't until he was right in front of the goal mouth, with Reis laying on the ground in front of him, that he took the shot, even then, he took a small amount of time with it.

Emilligoal keeps rolling along, picking up MLS leading goals #17 & #18 today. Pretty much after every goal he scores, I ask myself if Alecko Eskandarian would have scored that goal, or if he would have even been in that position to score. I honestly think that on about only 3 or 4 of them, Alecko would have buried the goal. The other 14 or so would have either been right at the goalkeeper or been flubbed in one fashion or another. The rate that Emillio is going with his goal scoring, picking up 23 or even 25 this season isn't that much of a fantasy now. That guy is money.

So after two matches in four days, United now sit alone on top of the Eastern Conference, with a four point lead over the New England Revolution. United also have a four point lead in the Supporters Shield standings over both New England and Houston, with United having a game in hand over the Dynamo and the tie breaker over New England.

United now wait three days and host the Freddy Adu-less Real Salt Lake Wednesday night. Really, who in MLS HQ scheduled the Real visit to DC for this late in the season? How much press could Garber & Co. picked up with the return of Freddy to United? Oh well, who cares now. Alecko is returning with his second club of the season. Real played a barn burner last night in a 4-3 loss to Houston, and they are coming in having won two of their last three matches. Hopefully we all will see United add to their league and Supporters Shield lead Wednesday night.

Match Recap: DC United 2 - 2 Chivas USA

Should anyone who is a United supporter be happy with a 2-2 road draw, especially last night's? Where do I start with the problems I am having with last night's match?

Sporting a 2-0 lead, a freakishly freak of a goal completely changed the tempo and tune of the match last night. Yes, there is no way in hell Troy would or in all honesty should have figured that Razov would have been in the perfect position to score with his ass. Tommy Smith or Eric Wynalda on ESPN2 said that he should just booted it out to one of the sides. Yeah, being able to say that after the fact is easy, but considering that the entire sequence was probably in no ones mind at the time, Troy made the correct clearance, it just went bad on a freakish goal.

What happened afterwards wasn't so freakish, but more old DC United rearing its lazy head. United was in total control of this match until Razov and his ass brought Chivas back into it. Our midfield slowed their play down and started to stand around like they did at the beginning of the season. In the second half, we were even worse. Chivas USA helped United by pulling Razov, who up to that point had been giving the defenders fits.

For every great play that Boswell had last night, he made some pretty poor decisions as well. The attempt to stop that cross in the middle of the 6 yard box that was only saved by the post scared the hell out of me. I have to think that McTavish gets called back into the line-up for either Vanney (who really needs to control his temper) or Boswell.

What the hell is wrong with Brian Carroll? That guy gets subbed into the match late, then spends his whole time on the field standing and watch balls roll at him, just to see a Chivas player steal it. He then decides to actually make a move and head the ball, but he heads the ball down right into a Chivas player. Carroll's playing ability has because a huge, huge liability for United defensively. He has completely lost his starting job to Cylde Simms and right now, if he was taken by San Jose in the expansion draft, I would drink a beer in celebration.

So now we have a home match in two days time against the New England Revolution. We currently sit 1 point ahead of them in first place overall, even on games. Who in MLS figured it would be ok for a club to play two matches in four days, on either side of the country? Anyways, we need to pick up three points Sunday. I am hoping that Emillio continues to grab goals like they are going out of style. I am hoping that the midfield takes a step back and returns to the midfield that not only won in Dallas, but had a 2-0 lead last night. I am happy that this match is not on ESPN2.

WTF??? Start the match late, miss the first goal, then at 12:30am, just cut away from the run of play? Even before they decided that a commercial break was needed, they were going to try and show the god damn Goal of the Week during the match. That is the type of shit that needs to be shown during the half time show. Up until last night, I always thought that ESPN, as bad as this sounds now, was the best at producing soccer in the USA. Now I just hope they get the right teams on the graphics.

Other match comments/opinions/news here, here, here and here.

Weekend Update: DC United Roll with a 6 pack

I had to admit, coming into Saturday nights match, I was a little concerned. United was set to face one of the top clubs in the Western Conference and face them on the road. FC Dallas were coming in with about two weeks worth of rest on their backs and some new Brazilian set to make his debut. It had the makings of the end of a 5 game winning streak.

Instead, it just became a 6 game winning streak.

That was one of the more complete matches I have seen United play in a long time. A quick strike to wrestle control early, a late first half goal to completely deflate the home side, followed up with two early second half goals to essentially put the game out of reach. That all said, with the exception of the fourth goal, this match was shaping up to be identical to the 3-3 draw that we all suffered from at RFK in July. The difference was that our defense looked much stronger and Dallas looked like they didn't have any type of cohesion in their side.

I was happy to see that Soehn is still rotating the starters out of matches, giving Emillio and Benny early exits, giving Boswell a start (which he looked very good in), giving Rod some time on the field "should" help him along as well. I would have liked to see Jamie get pulled during the second half, but considering Emillio and Benny's current injury status, pulling them made more sense. I do hope that if we are leading into the second half on Thursday, Soehn gives Jamie some rest.

Next up is Chivas USA, who had the weekend off and will be at home. Follow that up with a home match against New England and we should see just how far United can take this streak.

Sit Beckham, Sit. Good Brit.

So let's just list off everything that is surrounding this issue.

Beckham is still recovering from a sprained ankle. He played 60 minutes on August 15th in a win against DC United in the SuperLiga Semi-Finals. He then flew to New York the following day to attend press junkets and media appearances all day on Friday. Saturday night, Becks went the distance on Field Turf in the 5-4 loss to RBNY. The following day, "Golden Balls" jumped on a plane and flew off to London for the Wednesday evening England match at Wembly Stadium against Germany, in which he and his bum ankle went the distance again.

Ok, catch your breath.

So after the 2-1 loss to Germany, Beckham jumped on another plane and flew from London to Los Angeles in order to suit up for the MLS Super Classico, LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA. In this match he went the whole 90 minutes, got in a fight, and showed some signs that his ankle is still less than perfect. The Galaxy lost 3-0.

So...now the Galaxy are claiming that they are worried about Beckham?

The Galaxy have a road match this Sunday in the thin air of Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a match that is sold out. Everyone pretty much knows that this bottom of the table match up isn't sold out because the fans want to see the Rapids...they are coming to see Becks. Considering the amount of mileage that Beckham has just put his ankle and considering that the Galaxy's one shot at any type of glory this season is a Wednesday night match against Pachuca in the SuperLiga Final, I say that the Galaxy should disappoint the sold out crowd at DSG Park and sit Beckham.

Beckham showed in the 2-0 win over DC United that when he is on, he can change the entire make up of the Galaxy side. If either Frank Yallop or Alexi Lalas are going to retain their jobs this year, they are going to have to win the SuperLiga Championship. They are already out of the USOC and they really haven't a chance in hell in making it to the MLS Cup Playoffs. So, sitting beckham this Sunday to allow both himself and his ankle time to rest in preparation for the SuperLiga Final makes perfect sense. Furthermore, the thin air really can't do that much good for his ankle in the first place. Beckham said that his trip to Denver for the MLS All Star Game had bad effects on his ankle. So why risk the guy in a match that at this point, is really meaningless?

Now all of this logic aside, we all know that "Golden Balls" will be out on the pitch, wearing the Captain's armband and trying to will the Galaxy to their first MLS victory since the 4th of July. Considering the lack of bench players for Yallop, we should all expect to see Beckham go the entire 90 minutes on Sunday, barring injury or a red card. Yallop, Lalas, Garber & Co. and just about anyone who works for SUM/MLS, will pretty much demand that Beckham is on the field for this match. If I were Yallop, I would be doing two things right now, in this order:

- Getting my resume ready for job hunting.
- Telling Beckham that he is staying in LA to get some rest and treatment on his ankle and to be ready for Pachuca on Wednesday night.

Sit Beckham, Sit. Good Brit.

Match Recap: DC United 3 - 1 RBNY

Now that was a pretty good match to watch. We had drama, scoring, a record and a trophy. Not a bad night out at the ol' ball park.

The scoreline says it all. United took it to the Red Bulls, especially their back line and punished them for being inept at defending and punished Waterreus for being unable to hold onto the ball. The first goal really set the tempo, much like the first goal against New England did when Josh ran in and toe poked the ball as Reis bobbled it; Olsen tore into the six yard box and hit the ball as Waterreus failed to hold onto it. The second goal was a great team build up and really sank their entire side. The third goal was a well deserved PK, considering that Angel's PK, IMHO, shouldn't have been allowed as I thought McTavish was fouled.

From the first whistle, United handled this match. Yes there were times where RBNY seemed to be forcing everyone back into the United half of the field, but even when they did that, their midfielders and forwards never really looked like they could figure out how to crack the United defense. Troy had an amazing night in goal. His judgment on the high crosses is getting much better and he is showing that he has shaken off anything that was bothering him at the beginning of the season.

This was a great match to be at. A great performance by the entire club.

Jamie finally got his goal. Three months removed from tying Jason Kreis with 108, Moreno finally hit #109. Considering all of the knocks that he has taken this season, his age and the goal title, if we add the MLS Cup to the list of accolades that the club grabs this season, I wouldn't be shocked if he retires during the off-season. I want whatever he feels is best for himself, the club and his family. Until that time, enjoy the scoring title.

United now have three straight road matches ahead of them. This Saturday in Toronto against the new boys, TFC. Considering that their offense seems to be stuck in customs and their defense isn't really showing up either, I expect to see another three points added to the clubs record against TFC. After a full week off, United then travel to Dallas to take on FC Dallas, which could be an interesting affair. Both clubs are having pretty good runs of play, so this top of the table clash should be a good one. After that, United head out to LA for a match against Chivas USA, the better LA club. This is on a Thursday night start, with a short weekend to return home to face the Revolution. It will be interesting to see who is first in the East when the Revs arrive at RFK.

Match Recap: DC United 0 - 2 LA Galaxy

What a difference a Brit makes.

David Beckham started the SuperLiga Semi-Final match tonight against DC United. He not only started, but he set the tempo for the entire LA Galaxy side and he showed why he isn't washed up. I have never seen the Galaxy play at that tempo and speed before. It was good to see him banging away at guys, making hard challenges and getting into it with everyone on the field. He damn near took Jamie's legs off with his late tackle that drew a Yellow card, but over all, he performed incredibly.

Beckham was the difference.

Without Beckham, I honestly do not see the Galaxy scoring on his free kick (Amazing goal btw) nor do I see anyone in a Galaxy jersey making that pass to Donovan as he ran passed Gros, who decided to try and stop and watch the ball roll under his feet. When he left the game, the Galaxy became an entirely different beast. They didn't bunker, but the really didn't do what they did the first 60 minutes. Without Beckham, I really don't see the Galaxy winning this game.

Then again, I really have a hard time seeing United winning either. We looked tough, we had great movement at times, but our trapping and finishing just wasn't there tonight. Joe Cannon had an amazing second half. He made some saves that were spectacular. I do question why he is trying to look like Dante Hicks from Clerks, but hey, if he plays like that, let him look like Dante.

I saw several passes go right bye guys tonight, simply because we failed to trap the ball. All of them killed offensive movements at the Galaxy goal. It's always the simple things that get you.

Some notes:

- Props to either the Riot Squad or the Galaxians or whomever was chanting, "Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Hey, Hey, Hey, Good Bye!" We do that at RFK when we win, and I believe we did it last week when we won 1-0, so payback is a bitch.

- Vanney trade. I am not that sold on it now. I guess I have to weight the Erpen SNAFUs against the slow white man in the back. Not sure yet, I would rather see Burch ahead of both.

- Referee Alex Prus called a very, very loose match. I honestly think that the Galaxy should have had a PK as United should have as well, maybe two.

- Oh My Gawd, the field at the Home Depot Center looks worse than the field Olimpia hosted United on in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. WTF??? It almost looked like they were trying to make it look like the floor of the old Boston Garden.

- Captain Beckham? That was quick.

Well, the Galaxy have one shot at glory this season, and if Beckham plays like he did tonight, even with Pachuca having their great form of right now, I think they will get the first SuperLiga trophy. Depends on the ankle.

As for DC United... they are off to Columbus for an Eastern Conference showdown with the Crew. Hopefully, we will see the back line that pitched two straight shutouts along with Gomez and Simms in the midfield. United looked better with Simms in instead of Carroll. We have three straight Eastern Conference matches, away to the Crew, home to RBNY and away to Toronto FC. Let's put the Beckham show behind us now and get back to business of collecting three points a match.

DC United Notes: SuperLiga & Barra Brava

Tonight is the second Semi-Final in the inaugural North American SuperLiga tournament, DC United visiting the LA Galaxy. Pachuca advanced to the final last night by defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-2 on penalties after three red cards were handed out. The winner of tonight's match will host the final on August 29th.

Considering that these two clubs faced each other less than a week ago, with United winning 1-0, I have a good feeling about this match tonight. Yes Burch is suspended due to too many yellow cards and yes I know, HE will be playing, but considering everything else surrounding the Galaxy, they should hardly be in any real shape to play United. They are missing three of their main players, just finished a three match in a week road trip and have barely been in LA for 72 hours when the match kicks off. United hasn't played since the 1-0 victory over FC David Beckham and are in line to get Gomez back into the line up.

All in all, I expect a victory over Lalas's "Crown Jewel of MLS."

While everyone is waiting for the 10pm kick off, go check out the Washington Posts coverage of the match tonight & their expose of Barra Brava.

Match Recap: DC United 1 - 0 LA Galaxy

Well, he played.

David Beckham did play. Considering the situation he came onto the field in the 71st minute, he didn't do badly. He had a very nicely placed free kick into the penalty box and he sent a great pass into Landon Donovan. It looked like his ankle held up. LA fans, give him four more matches and he should be alright.

Ok, now that he is out of the way, United went out and picked up alot more than just three more points. They were able to build on the Sunday shutout of New England without Gomez. They were able to collect a second straight clean sheet. The back four of Boswell, Namoff, McTavish & Burch looked very well, even when they had defensive breakdowns, they covered for each other. Troy looked amazing in the box, controlling the crosses and displaying pretty good judgment on when to come off his line.

United picked up a narrow, yet not so narrow 1 goal victory over the same club that has destroyed United at RFK in several of the last few matches. They also beat the team that they face next Tuesday in the SuperLiga Semi-Finals.

All of this greatness happened in front of 46,000+ spectators and in alot of rain at times, however, the finishing still needs to be worked on. The score could have very well been 4-0, but the last touch for several players in the black & red failed them. United was very lucky to get the one goal passed Cannon, as he was on fire for most of the evening. I would rather not see United be forced to rely on a 1 goal victory on Tuesday*. Granted that the Galaxy have a match in between tonight's match and Tuesday nights match, we should be the fresher side, I want to see better finishing.

I have one bone to pick and it is with Fred. Fred returned from his red card holiday and played pretty well...but he also on several occasions, stopped runs and started ball watching. He stopped runs right when guys would pass the ball where he would have been had he continued the run. These all became turnovers. I am really trying to figure out why Fred has turned into a ball watcher as of late. If he would cut his site seeing times in half, he would be in so many more positions to create chances. Instead, he effectively turned the ball over by stopping his run and watching the play.

Over all, I was happy with the team composure and the team effort. United kept trying to crack the Galaxy defense and with one strong kick from Emillio, they broke through with the 1 goal that was needed. If United was the type of club that can score in the 12th minute then run the entire match into the ground for about 80 or so minutes like Chelsea can, then 1 goal a game would be fine. We all know that United haven't been able to do that very often, infact counting SuperLiga matches, United has only posted three 1-0 victories this season. They have also lost 1 1-0 lead, so I am still not that convinced that they can do it.

Anyways, United are now in second in the East, with a match in hand over Kansas City. Next up is an away match at LA (SuperLiga) then an away match at Columbus. United finish August at home to RBNY then away at BMO Field to take on Toronto FC. Hopefully the defensive trend of clean sheets carries the club to several more points over these next matches.

* - Edit. I thought that the SuperLiga match was on Tuesday. It is actually on Wednesday.