June 2008 Archives
Needed a deep breath after the weekend (and spent the day writing Tuesday's column), so late blogging.
Chivas USA is one of 16 teams participating in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup at 7 p.m. Tuesday playing a game in Seattle against the Sounders you can see here. Chivas USA lost at this stage of the competition last year to Seattle.
Long Beach State sophomore-to-be Janet Mendez of Palmdale helped Mexico qualify for the Under-20 World Cup in Chile in November, starting and playing 72 minutes as Mexico beat Costa Rica 3-2 on penalty kicks over the weekend.
In the PDL Saturday it was:
Fresno Fuego 1 Los Angeles Legends O
Southern California Seahorses 1 Bakersfield Brigade
Lancaster Rattlers 1 Ventura County Fusion 1
W-League:
Fort Collins Force 1 Los Angeles Legends 1 (Saturday)
Fort Collins Force 0 Pali Blues 2 (Tonight)
Also this weekend (from the edited Galaxy press release):
In a top of the table clash with the Ventura County Fusion, the Galaxy Rios Under-20's lost 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Home Depot Center. The Fusion scored twice inside the final 20 minutes to move into a tie for first place in the league with Bakersfield.
WPSL
San Diego WFC SeaLions 0 Ajax America Women 3
West Coast FC 2 Los Angeles Rampage 0
If you're already waiting on the long weekend, note the Galaxy play Independence Day in Carson against the aptly-named New England Revolution.
Chivas USA play Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Just be glad ABC didn't show the Galaxy-D.C. United game after the Euro 2008 final.
The Galaxy froze on a sweltering day in the nation's capital, surrendering 4-1 to United.
Meanwhile, the Spain-Germany game is at half time.
The obligatory David Beckham update that passes for a Galaxy preview. Game begins at 9 a.m. on ABC.
Galaxy odds and ends.
The finale of Euro 2008 follows with Spain against Germany for whom Michael Ballack is a doubt.
The one saving grace of a game like this is that you can always count on the ever-quotable Jesse Marsch to put things in perspective with brutal honesty:
"I can only imagine what that game looked like," he said. "It must have been painful to watch because it was painful to play in."
Yes, Jesse it was.
The problem? Too many guys playing like crap, essentially:
"(We're) not getting enough good games out of guys," Marsch said. "At the beginning of the year it felt a little bit like we weren't getting many breaks, but right now it just feels like we can't get our rhythm going. We can't put any passes together. We can't dominate games. We're just not very sharp. Right now I'm at a little bit of a loss."
Which pretty much summed it up.
Preki said much the same thing: "We didn't play well," he said. "We created nothing offensively in the first half. ... Overall I don't think we created enough opportunities to give ourselves a real good chance of winning."
Incidentally, I failed to mention Jonathan Bornstein getting burned repeatedly by Dane Richards was the reason for the switches at half time (and somehow failed to mention Bornstein at all). Ahem.
Meanwhile, Red Bulls Coach Juan Carlos Osario is looking forward to reinforcements after losing Altidore (and Reyna and Angel) with two players on the way from South America.
Still, Ante Razov was fun to talk to especially since he was incredulous at his goal (the 111th of his career) that he saw coming from a long way out and actually had to wait until he made his move:
"I realized (Jeff) Parke (was) not paying attention to (full back Kevin Goldthwaite who was making the pass) and he's about to play a square ball. (Notes Parke started to move forward) I can't believe he's still going to play it and he played it and then it was just a race between me and Conway."
Check out the photos here.
These are two teams looking for a spark to their respective seasons. Chivas USA is fourth in the west, New York fifth in the east. Yawn.
Up next for Chivas USA: The USL Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup in the Pacific Northwest.
Updated: Game story.
This was a game that never seemed to get up to full speed, ending with the two teams still tied at one apiece.
Chivas USA Coach Preki took central defender Jim Curtin out at half time, pushed Bobby Burling into the middle of defense, moved Cary Talley to right back and inserted sub Atiba Harris into midfield.
That shuffling of the pack appeared to give Chivas USA renewed impetus at the start of the half, Razov hitting a cracker of a direct free kick from 25 yards that required a touch by New York goalkeeper Jon Conway to keep it out.
Two minutes later a Harris cross bounced off a New York defender and then off Justin Braun, a touch that almost beat Conway.
And that was about it.
Braun by the way played the entire second half with duct tape (useful stuff that) stuck to his head after he received a whack in the face from Boyens in the first half as the pair challenged for a ball. Braun required five stitches, which were hastily sewed on the sideline.
Back with more later from the locker rooms.
A choppy first half with neither team finding their rhythm ended with the teams tied at one apiece on two rather strange goals.
The first came from a direct free kick in the 26th minute when the speedy Dane Richards bested Jonathan Bornstein yet again down the right hand side to draw the foul.
Dave van den Bergh sent the resulting kick curling rather softly into the far corner of the net with Brad Guzan uncharacteristically rooted to the turf as a Chivas USA and Red Bull player attempted to get to it in front of him.
Chivas USA then came close twice within two minutes, Hunter Freeman clearing a chip off the line, then Claudio Suarez seeing a shot from six yards blocked. Chivas USA players appealed for hand ball, but it was clear the ball hit Andrew Boyens arm that was down by his side.
The teams ended the half with five shots apiece.
Chivas USA drew level in first half stoppage time, an errant New York free kick sent behind a Red Bull defender and Ante Razov, with only the goalkeeper to beat, opportunistically seizing on it for a relatively simple goal.
It's the ( 5-4-4) Red Bulls against (5-6-2) Chivas USA on a lovely night for soccer at Victoria Street.
Chivas USA Coach Preki has named a 3-4-3 formation, although indications are we'll see a 4-4-2 with Jonathan Bornstein (who is listed as a forward) actually playing at left back.
Brad Guzan is in goal as usual, while Jim Curtin is presumably drafted into the middle of defense alongside Claudio Suarez, leaving Bobby Burling at right back.
Panchito Mendoza is likely wide on the left, with Sacha Kljestan on the right and Carey Talley and Jesse Marsch in the middle.
Up front: Ante Razov and Justin Braun.
Raphael Wicky is a late scratch on the bench (right calf strain). Jorge Flores, Atiba Harris and Shavar Thomas are among the available subs.
For the 3-5-2 Red Bulls, it's Jon Conway in goal, Hunter Freeman, Jeff Parke and Andrew Boyens in defense; Kevin Goldthwaite, Carlos Mendes, the explosive Dane Richards, Dave van den Bergh and captain Seth Stammler in midfield.
Attackers: Sinisa Ubiparipovic and former Galaxy forward John Wolyniec.
No Juan Pablo Angel or Claudio Reyna, who are out with injuries tonight and, of course, Jozy Altidore is gone.
One press box wag has already observed it's a bunch of minimum wage players for the Red Bulls.
Here are the essentials for tonight's Chivas USA-New York Red Bulls game at Home Depot Center:
*NYRB are without Claudio Reyna, Juan Pablo Angel (both injured) and, of course, one Senor Altidore (sunning himself in Spain).
*Fear not. Chivas USA has Justin Braun.
*The Red Bulls are playing their fifth game in 15 days tonight, which could help Chivas USA avoid losing twice to New York in one season.
*Oh, and Mickey Mouse will perform the coin toss before the game.
Want more? Here's a longer preview.
And while we're at it here's a Galaxy-D.C. United preview (it's a nice try at a different sort of advance, but turns out to be a bit of a stretch since United's Marcelo Gallardo decided not to play ball). This may be the only preview posted here since the game kicks off on ABC at 9 a.m. and it's highly unlikely I will crawl out of bed early on a Sunday morning to actually blog. And don't forget the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany follows immediately after on the same channel.
Friday scores:
Fort Collins Force 4 Ventura County Fusion 1 (W-League).
San Jose Frogs 3 Los Angeles Legends 3 (PDL).
Finally (and for no other reason than I could do with a laugh this morning) take five seconds out of your day and watch this contender (that appears to be from a league game in Russia) for the worst penalty kick ever.
Back this evening with more from the Chivas USA game.
New York Red Bulls striker Juan Pablo Angel did not make the trip to Los Angeles and will not be available for tomorrow's game against Chivas USA.
Goals aplenty are expected Sunday when the Galaxy plays D.C. United on the road in a rare nationally televised MLS game on ABC that precedes the Euro 2008 final.
The official Galaxy blog has a video preview.
Speaking of Euro 2008, sports media columnist Tom Hoffarth had more today on the broadcast snafu that frankly ruined the first semifinal Wednesday between Germany and Turkey. The problem wasn't ESPN's fault and the network is due some props for hiring the likes of former Scottish pro Andy Gray to provide expertise, but it still has some serious credibility problems.
(Climbs on soap box)
For one thing, if ESPN weren't so cheap they would have somebody at the game - so they don't have to solely rely on commentators in a U.S. studio in the event of an outage - who could provide an audio feed as the BBC apparently did.
Second, with the network crowing about its Euro 2008 ratings then their coverage must go to the next level and actually have their broadcast teams at the stadium. The crowd noise is noticeably lower because ESPN is not there live and that doesn't help the atmosphere of a game that's being aired.
(Climbs down).
Chivas USA continue their lengthy home stand Saturday with a game against the Red Bulls that features a special Disneyland half time show. Good time to point out that with every adult ticket purchased a munchkin 12 or under gets in free. Tickets start at $14.
The club has a video preview here.
An interesting article about Chivas USA forward Maykel Galindo rekindling a childhood friendship with a fellow defector who now plays for the Seattle Mariners is here. (Thanks to Bruce over at DuNord for unearthing that story).
Apparently John Thorrington, who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was such a late choice for last weekend's World Cup qualifier he had not brought along a certain important document needed to travel and had to return home to Chicago to get it.
Finally, other local games set for this weekend include:
PDL
7:30 p.m. Friday San Jose Frogs at Los Angeles Legends at A.P.U. - Cougar Stadium.
7:30 p.m. Saturday Fresno Fuego at Los Angeles Legends at A.P.U. - Cougar Stadium.
7:30 pm Saturday Lancaster Rattlers at Ventura County Fusion at Buena High School.
W-League
8 p.m. Friday Fort Collins Force at Ventura County Fusion at Newberry Park High School.
5:00 p.m. Saturday Fort Collins Force at Los Angeles Legends at Azusa Pacific.
Enjoy your weekend and rejoin me Saturday for the Chivas USA game at Home Depot Center.
Galaxy defender Abel Xavier was fined $500 by MLS following comments criticizing the officials after last week's 3-3 draw with Columbus.
Xavier was given a yellow card by referee Mark Geiger and called for a foul that set up the game-tying goal in the 88th minute. Xavier was upset afterward and said his foot cleanly touched the ball first.
``C'mon, the referee is so bad,'' Xavier said after the game. ``The question of one of the things they must improve in this league is the referees. It is very clear my foot was on the ball. If someone has eyes, they see clear contact with the ball.
``I can name 15 wrong decisions with the ref on both sides.''
More on the unusual classified ad at the bottom of the post.
But first, a couple of other odds and ends.
Columbus Crew Coach Sigi Schmid, one of the South Bay's favorite soccer sons, talks about the long-distance relationship he has with his wife while he labors in Ohio.
The influence of Cal State Long Beach women's soccer Coach Mauricio Ingrassia, a native of Argentina, on the program is recounted here.
Finally, here's an ad you don't see everyday, culled from Craigslist and reprinted here exactly as it appears there:
Reply to: pris1224@hotmail.com Date: 2008-06-26, 5:09PM PDTOur company are currently looking for Mandarin orCantonese speaking candidate to broadcast live soccergame at the following location:
CARSON, CALIFORNIA
If you know any friend that are located in thefollowing location, please have them contact me ASAP.It is a part-time position and flexible time. If youare looking for some extra income in a flexibleschedule, this is a very good opportunity. Pleasecontact me ASAP. $150 per game for 2 hours.
Almost worth learning Mandarin at that price.
Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit was absent from today's training session because he went to Holland for personal reasons, according to officials. Gullit is expected to rejoin the Galaxy in Washington, D.C., for Saturday's match with D.C. United.
``We won without David (Beckham) and Landon (Donovan) and then we won with Landon, so now we'll win without Ruud,'' Galaxy defender Chris Klein joked.
Germany narrowly beat Turkey 3-2 at Euro 2008 and will take on the winner of today's Spain-Russia semifinal (11:30 a.m. ESPN2) in Sunday's final. Let's hope today's game isn't marred by the technical problems viewers both here and around the world endured during Wednesday's game. I don't know about you, but the telecast missing two of the game's goals (and returning just in time to catch Germany's last minute winner) spoiled the excitement of the game for me.
Over in Galaxyland, The Washington Post's Steven Goff is reporting more than 30,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday's game against D.C. United in the nation's capital, where he is fretting about L.A.'s status as the highest-scoring team in MLS and United's league-worst defense. He doesn't mention the Galaxy's penchant for blowing leads and defensive holes Luciano Emilio is capable of exploiting though.
Meanwhile, rookie Galaxy defender Julian Valentin has joined the world of blogging and fills us in on his trip to Costco (really) and his goldfish purchase.
The Red Bulls, heading west to play Chivas USA Saturday in Carson, beat the mothership 1-0 in Arizona Wednesday night where newly-signed former Galaxy draft pick Gordon Kljesten saw action for New York. Will he play against brother Sasha and Chivas USA this weekend?
Claudio Reyna won't play though and Red Bull fans are displeased to put it mildly.
Chivas USA learned Wednesday night that if they beat the USL's Seattle Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup they'll face either the Kansas City Wizards in Carson or USL team the Carolina Railhawks in Cary, N.C. on July 8 in the quarterfinals.
Lastly, in PDL action Wednesday the Southern California Seahorses finally got a win against the Orange County Blue Star in La Mirada.
The league table is here (scroll down).
Turkey, already a long shot to beat Germany in today's first Euro 2008 semifinal, (live 11:30 a.m. on ESPN) has several starters missing through injury or suspension and the Germans are in a confident mood. Derek Rae and Andy Gray will call the game, while the second semifinal between Spain and an entertaining Russian side follows at the same time Thursday.
The winners play Sunday on ABC in a game preceded by the Galaxy-D.C. United game at 9 a.m.
In another televised game today at 8 p.m. on Telefutura, CD Guadalajara plays the New York Red Bulls in a Phoenix friendly. The Red Bulls are heading west to take on Chivas USA Saturday night at Home Depot Center.
Meanwhile, Chivas USA learned Tuesday they will play the USL's Seattle Sounders in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup July 1 in the Pacific Northwest. The Sounders Tuesday thumped the amateurs of Hollywood United 6-0.
By the way, tickets to the 5 p.m. July 20 Chivas USA-New England Revolution game in Fullerton that is the third SuperLiga group game for both teams are now on sale. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.
A look at the challenges faced by Chivas USA Under-18 player Omar Becerra is here.
In a PDL game tonight, Orange County Blue Star visits the Southern California Seahorses at 7 p.m. at La Mirada High.
Finally, if you're Jewish and can play soccer, the U.S. Jewish National Soccer Team wants to hear from you.
Details on the U.S. Women's National Team roster announced Monday that will participate in the Olympics was the subject of my weekly column.
Here's Coach Pia Sundhage on the attributes of USC striker Amy Rodriguez:
"She offers speed and not only speed, if you play to her feet she can turn on a dime and just go. That is important in international games. ... In a foot race she will beat many players.
The U.S. departs Friday for a pair of games in Scandinavia before returning home to play two more before the Olympics begin in August.
Landon Donovan was named MLS Player of the Week for the third time this season after his two-goal performance in the 3-3 draw with Columbus Saturday that gave him a league-best 11 goals in 10 games.
Donovan's second goal was the 75th of his MLS career, making the 26-year-old the youngest player to reach that milestone.
Also on the awards front, Edson Buddle has been nominated for MLS Goal of the Week for the second consecutive week.
The Galaxy Rios Under-20 demolished the Bakersfield Brigade 8-0 in a USL Super-20 game last weekend. The 3-1-1 Rios are currently tied for first place in the league with the Ventura County Fusion, who they meet 5 p.m. Sunday at Home Depot Center. Admission is free.
Finally, the studliest pen commercial you'll ever see:
U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage announced today her 18-player roster for the Olympics (with college, caps and goals in parentheses):
goalkeepers: Nicole Barnhart (Stanford, 9), Hope Solo (Washington, 64); defenders Rachel Buehler (Stanford, 11/0), Lori Chalupny (North Carolina, 70/6), Stephanie Cox (Portland, 42/0), Kate Markgraf (Notre Dame, 181/0), Heather Mitts (Florida, 78/2), Christie Rampone (Monmouth, 193/4); midfielders Shannon Boxx (Notre Dame, 92/18), Tobin Heath (North Carolina, 12/2), Angela Hucles (Virginia, 84/7), Carli Lloyd (Rutgers, 62/15), Heather O'Reilly (North Carolina, 90/19), Lindsay Tarpley (North Carolina, 96/26), Aly Wagner (Santa Clara, 121/21); forwards Natasha Kai (Hawaii, 48/19), Amy Rodriguez (USC, 19/4), Abby Wambach (Florida, 123/98).
Notable:
*Nine players on the roster were members of the U.S. team that won the gold medal four years ago in Athens, including team co-captains Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf, who will both participate in their third Olympics.
*At age 20, Heath is the youngest player on the roster, while Rampone (who turns 33 Tuesday) is the oldest. The average age of the squad is 26.
*Veteran goalkeeper Brianna Scurry, who was at the center of the controversy with fellow net minder Hope Solo at the last World Cup, did not make the squad. Sundhage said the controversy had nothing to do with her decision and the door remains open for Scurry in the future.
*Scurry was named as one of four alternates available in case of injury, as was UCLA's Lauren Cheney.
Quotable: Captain Christie Rampone -
"It's been a long seven months, with Pia coming in and making a huge transition for this team, but everyone has been very receptive and willing to change. It's tough when you have limited time, but everyone trusted Pia and believed in Pia. She's done an amazing job with this team and in the way we have changed this system. We are a more possession-oriented team. Of course, there are times when we get away from it, but she believes in us and we keep trying to getting better on the field."
I'll have more on the roster selection and the run-in to the Olympics for the team in Tuesday's weekly column.
Coach Pia Sundhage will announce the roster in a teleconference at noon today, although few, if any, surprises are expected.
The roster is likely to be virtually unchanged from the just-concluded Peace Cup, which means Torrance's Shannon Boxx, USC's Amy Rodriguez and UCLA Lauren Cheney are anticipated to head to China.
While we await the official announcement, here's a few weekend leftovers:
*The Galaxy Rios, the Galaxy's youth team, holds three open tryouts next month in Irvine, Chino Hills and Glendale.
From the (edited) press release:
The LA Galaxy will be holding open tryouts for the Galaxy Rios, the club's official youth development program, for any male player born between 1990 and 1994 at three different locations throughout Southern California from July 11 through July 13. Players must register and pay the $30 fee by Sunday, July 6th for one of the three open tryout venues.Players will play a seven v. seven, 50-minute game, while being assessed by Galaxy Rios Coaching Staff, including Galaxy Director of Player Development Trevor James and Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo. The top players from each of the three tryouts will be invited back to participate in a training session at The Home Depot Center for further evaluation by the Rios Coaching Staff.
All players must apply online and have a valid email address. More info is available here.
*Sixteen U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Champions won titles Sunday in Hawaii, with 12 teams representing the Under-14 through Under-19 boys and girls divisions earning spots at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships July 22-27 in Little Rock, Ark.
Among the championship highlights from the (edited) press release:
The Under-15 Girls Slammers FC earned their second shot at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship title Sunday after beating fellow California South team Real So Cal, 4-1. Last year the Slammers lost in the final game of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.Under-16 Girls So Cal Blue is the only U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV team to return to defend its U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship and won 3-0 against Real So Cal.
Arsenal FC Under-14 Boys won the championship against the LA Rampage with a goal from Jake La Porte (34:00).
Other results involving teams from Southern California include:
Girls Under-13 - So Cal Blues 3 Real Colorado National 0
Boys Under-15 - Arsenal FC 0 Valley United 4
Boys Under-16 - FC Barcelona 0 Real So Cal Blue 2
Girls Under-17 - Eagles FC 0 Slammers FC 1
Girls Under-18 - Colorado Nike Rush 2 Slammers FC 1
Girls Under-19 - FC Portland 0 Slammers FC 3
*In the PDL Sunday:
Orange County Blue Star 2 San Fernando Valley Quakes 2
W-League:
Pali Blues 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 0
The U.S. beat Barbados 1-0 today to advance to the next round of CONCACAF qualifying 9-0 on aggregate.
Game story is here.
Still, if you were like me you were watching the rather dull Spain-Italy Euro 2008 quarterfinal. With that, the semifinals are set.
This is an excellent Sunday read on the trials of minor league soccer team the San Fernando Valley Quakes and its owner.
The Quakes play at 7:05 p.m. today at Calabasas High.
In Barbados, the U.S. Men's National Team is trying to stay focused on the task at hand. The game is at noon on ESPN Classic (opposite the 11:30 a.m. Spain-Italy Euro 2008 quarterfinal on ESPN one should note).
This weekend's World Cup qualifying so far.
In other PDL games, the Ventura County Fusion beat the Fresno Fuego Saturday (and Friday).
Other PDL scores:
San Francisco Seals 2 Los Angeles Legends 3
Orange County Blue Star 2 Lancaster Rattlers 4
San Francisco Seals 2 Southern California Seahorses 0
Lancaster Rattlers 2 Bakersfield Brigade 1
W-League:
Ventura County Fusion 0 Fort Collins Force 2
WPSL
Ajax America Women 1 West Coast FC 3
Claremont Stars 0 Los Angeles Rampage 3
Galaxy defender Abel Xavier was upset over the foul and yellow card from referee Mark Geiger that set up the game-tying goal by Columbus.
``C'mon, the referee is so bad,'' Xavier said. ``The question of one of the things they must improve in this league is the referees. It is very clear my foot was on the ball. If someone has eyes, they see clear contact with the ball.
``I can name 15 wrong decisions with the ref on both sides.''
So the Galaxy still haven't beaten a team with a winning record this season.
But at least they didn't lose after blowing a lead as Coach Ruud Gullit noted has already happened this season:
"At the beginning of the season we lost these games in the last couple of minutes."
Still, as Gullit and several players observed, it was a draw that felt like a loss:
"We gave the goals away," he said. "You have to win these games. It's two points thrown away."
Crew Coach Sigi Schmid was none too impressed with how Donovan snatched the first Galaxy goal with his challenge on goalkeeper Will Hesmer:
"That was an obvious push. ... Landon obviously pushed Hesmer. ... He gets a way with a great shove in his lower back."
Here's David Beckham thinking like a referee on the penalty he drew:
"He grabbed me around the waist. I felt that was enough contact for a penalty."
Landon Donovan, well, wasn't so sure - but wasn't complaining either:
"I wasn't sure David really got fouled, but whatever. It's the referee's decision to make.
Donovan believes the team isn't doing enough to protect the defense:
The issue is (opponents) are able to get from their defensive end into our attack in sometimes two or three passes and easily. It's not always just the back four that's struggling."
Here's Schmid on South Bay product Robbie Rogers:
"Sometimes Robbie dropped too deep at times. He's been too honest defensively. Now he's got to that point of learning how to cheat (going forward) and when to cheat and get forward at the right time. But still he's an important player for us and he had an impact on the game for us."
By the way, Beckham insisted he was 100 percent, but then conceded a left foot injury was bothering him in the first half until he got treatment at half time:
"I got a kick on it a couple of days ago in training and it was still playing up slightly."
The game story is here.
Finally, just to end things on the right (wrong?) foot, here's Beckham on his blazing miss that could have sealed the game for the Galaxy:
"I'm disappointed not to finish the game off there. I felt personally the ground gave way, the grass gave way as I hit the ball. ... When you get an opportunity like that in the last couple of minutes, it's disappointing not to score."
The grass gave way?
I dunno. He sure looks like he knows he screwed that up.
The Galaxy managed to blow two leads in the second half and in the end escaped with a 3-3 tie with David Beckham blowing a gorgeous chance to smash home the winner in the 90th minute. Afterward he slumped to the turf, hanging his head in shame.
Substitute Steven Lenhart was the hero for Columbus, poking home the ball in the 88th minute to make it 3-3 after Steve Cronin punched away a hard Frankie Hejduk shot.
Edson Buddle's ninth goal of the season had made it 2-0 for the Galaxy in the opening moments of the second half. But the Crew came back via a freakish Brad Evans goal in the 67th minute and Robbie Rogers drawing a penalty two minutes later that Barros Schelotto converted to make it 2-2.
Beckham drew a penalty in the 82nd minute that allowed the Galaxy to take a 3-2 lead after Edson Buddle's fine work down the left sideline had the Crew back-pedaling. He pulled it back to Beckham, who was tripped in the box by O'Rourke.
Back later with locker room reaction.
Defensive calamities for the Crew and a tepid offense combined to allow the Galaxy to take a one goal lead after the first 45 minutes.
A horrendous mistake by Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer in just the fourth minute gifted the Galaxy their goal, the Columbus net minder failing to hold a David Beckham cross when challenged by Landon Donovan who then turned and fired the ball home.
The Galaxy could have had a couple more, notably when defender Chad Marshall completely missed a pass from Hesmer, allowing Beckham to almost chip the goalkeeper.
Donovan also missed from eight yards when wide open and an unmarked Edson Buddle sent a ball from a diving header wide of the post, too.
The Crew's best chance came just before half time, Robbie Rogers almost nipping in to get on the end of a long through ball, but he got under it too much and put it over the bar from about 12 yards.
That was the most we'd seen so far from Rogers, who like Argentine star Guillermo Baros Schelotto, were largely kept in check by the Galaxy.
Beckham has also looked out of sorts and appeared to limp slightly in the 34th minute after an apparent problem with his left foot.
The Galaxy (6-4-2), the highest-scoring team in MLS and sitting first in the Western Conference plays the Columbus Crew (7-4-1), which is lying second in the Eastern Conference.
The Galaxy have won four of their last five games propelled by the scoring exploits of Edson Buddle, who has eight goals during that stretch.
In contrast, the Crew have won just once in five games and scored a mere three goals, which all came in their last outing against Kansas City.
Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit makes just two changes to the team that defeated San Jose last weekend with Josh Tudela dropping to the bench and Ely Allen moving back into midfield since Landon Donovan has returned from international duty to partner Edson Buddle up front.
Steve Cronin is in goal as usual behind an unchanged back four of Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Abel Xavier and Mike Randolph.
David Beckham, Alvaro Pires and Ante Jazic line up alongside Allen in midfield.
On the bench: Joe Franchino, Alan Gordon, Brandon McDonald, Troy Roberts, and Greg Vanney.
Crew Coach Sigi Schmid makes three changes with Frankie Hejduk returning from international duty with the U.S. to slot into the defense in place of Andy Iro, while Brad Evans and Nicholas Hernnandez move into a five-man midfield in place of Duncan Oughton and Emmanuel Ekpo.
Former Galaxy forward Alejandro Moreno will play as the lone striker as Schmid seeks to slow the rampant Galaxy attack by clogging up the midfield.
Rolling Hills Estates Robbie Rogers, who has five goals so far this season, starts in midfield.
It's finally cooling down in Carson, so hopefully the heat wave won't interfere (too much) with the game.
I'm on Barbados time, so late blogging this morning.
The Galaxy face the Crew at steamy Home Depot Center (7:30 p.m. live on Prime) later today. Game previews are here and here.
The U.S. women (narrowly) won the Peace Cup overnight.
On the men's side, CONCACAF World Cup qualifying resumes this weekend. The U.S. is in Barbados for the second leg where the weather is typically tropical.
Back with more tonight from Carson.
Bob Bradley named his squad today for the irrelevant return World Cup qualifying leg in Barbados Sunday (caps and goals are in parentheses): goalkeepers Dominic Cervi (out of contract: 0/0), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA: 1/1 SO), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake: 0/0); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (out of contract: 12/1), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland: 1/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 0/0), Drew Moor (FC Dallas: 0/0) Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 8/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 1/0); mikdfielders DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 15/4), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen: 1/1), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 0/0), Eddie Lewis (Derby County: 18/2), Danny Szetela (Brescia: 0/0), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire: 0/0; forwards Freddy Adu (SL Benfica: 1/0), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire: 0/0), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire: 0/0).
Out: Tim Howard continues to rehabilitate a lower back sprain suffered prior to the Barbados match. Eddie Johnson is ill.
Even if the lopsided score of the first leg meant Bradley didn't have to name his strongest squad, it was still a huge achievement for John Thorrington to win a recall with his fine form this term after almost quitting the game due to chronic injuries.
The above stats for Thorrington, who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, are wrong by the way. John played 19 minutes as a sub in a game against Ecuador in 2001, according to my 2008 U.S. MNT media guide (and confirmed by John). He said he had "fond memories of the experience."
"The good times are that much sweeter because a year ago I wasn't even playing. I'm certainly not going to get carried away with it. It is what it is."
Meanwhile, USC's latest NCAA champion teams will visit the White House Tuesday. The USC women's golf and soccer teams each captured NCAA titles in the past year, bumping the total of national titles claimed by USC teams to 108.
U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage will name the Olympic team Monday,
The U.S. Women are playing Canada in the Peace Cup final as I write this: the score is 0-0.
Here's Landon Donovan after today's Galaxy practice:
On following the Galaxy while playing for the U.S. national team: ``I was watching like every other fan, online.''
On the Galaxy being in first place: ``It's early. But this can help us if we get home-field advantage.''
Beat writer Scott Wolf will contribute to the 100 Percent Soccer blog while yours truly is otherwise engaged.
Here's David Beckham after today's Galaxy practice:
On the return of Landon Donovan: ``It's always great to have all of your teammates back. It's important to carry on this run.''
On being able to score goals in Donovan's absence: ``That was one of the worries, but not from the players or the team. As long as we have confidence in each other, there's a good chance of us scoring goals.''
On Euro 2008: ``I haven't seen much of it. The time difference is tough. It's still something I don't enjoy (watching without England). I've seen the majority of Spain because I have friends playing.''
Hot soccer, hot weather.
Two of the best teams in MLS, the Galaxy - who sit in first in the West - and second place Columbus in the East clash Saturday at Home Depot Center. I'll have a complete preview of the game Saturday.
Things are heating up for local PDL teams, too, as the season hits the halfway mark, while in a case of bad timing the Ventura County Fusion leave the cool air of coastal Ventura for the steamier Conejo Valley for their game tonight against the San Jose Frogs.
In other PDL games in the Los Angeles area this weekend:
On Friday - Orange County Blue Star at Lancaster Rattlers at 7 p.m. at Pete Knight High.
San Francisco Seals at Los Angeles Legends at 7:30 p.m. at A.P.U. Cougar Stadium.
Saturday - San Francisco Seals at Southern California Seahorses at 7 p.m. at La Mirada High.
Sunday - Orange County Blue Star at San Fernando Valley Quakes at 7:05 p.m. at Calabasas High.
In the WPSL Saturday - Ajax America Women v West Coast FC at noon at Nansen Field in Rolling Hills Estates.
Claremont Stars v Los Angeles Rampage 5: 30 p.m. at Claremont High.
Sunday - Los Angeles Rampage v Ajax America Women at 5:30 p.m. at Granada Hills.
Finally, former U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team coach John Ellinger has resurfaced at Dallas after leaving Real Salt Lake.
Stay cool.
The biggest crowd of the year so far for a Chivas USA home game - 24,143 - saw a 2-0 win by the hosts Thursday over the Chicago Fire that was thoroughly entertaining to watch.
Actually, it was fun to ask (most of) the participants questions about it too, although Chicago players were obviously not happy.
Here's Sasha Kljestan on his goal celebration that incorporated a Blanco goal celebration routine:
"I was sitting with my friend Benny Feilhaber yesterday and he said if I scored I had to do something about Blanco. He's obviously a bit of a rival for us. No disrespect to Blanco, he's obviously a great player. But I like his (goal) celebration, so I thought I would add it into my little karate celebration. I thought it was kind of funny."
On the crowd:
"It was probably 50-50 out there tonight, if not more Blanco fans. I was trying to get our fans involved early on. We ended up getting the lead and I was happy the fans were into it. ... We haven't had the best home crowds here so far this year. ... The feel inside the stadium just makes the game a little faster. We get pumped. We're excited about these big games and we want to please our fans. Everything just gets a little more buzzed almost when you play a game like that. It changes the game."
On the second half:
"We knew what the second half was going to be like and I thought we dealt with it very well. (Goalkeeper) Brad (Guzan) didn't have to make any huge saves. It was a good team effort."
On his attacking runs in the first half:
"Going at Diego Gutierrez was something I felt I could do tonight, so I tried to make the best of it, tried to make those runs behind him. Just try to use my youth, I guess, a little bit against him. It worked on the one play for the goal so that was good."
Jesse Marsch on what the game meant to Chivas USA:
"This is a big victory for us. More than anything we need to get on a roll. ... I hope we can play like this more often. I hope we break through here and capture the momentum."
Last year Marsch was not happy with the calls Blanco was getting and the refereeing and although he tried to be diplomatic, was similarly unhappy this year, calling one hand ball called against him (Blanco struck the ball) "shaky":
"I'm just running and the ball hit me. .. I have some issues with the referee, but I'd rather not air them. ... In this league I've always seen some of the bigger names get calls. ... Good players get calls sometimes. Refs are fans .... The Blanco thing I think is an issue a lot of teams would bring up about the referees."
Chicago Coach Dennis Hamlett on why his team didn't respond in the second half:
"We felt when it was 11 v 11 we had some very good looks that we didn't finish and now you'd think having a man advantage you were going to get some more chances. We weren't all on the same page as far as getting the ball out wide because the space was there. We just kept forcing things down the middle, playing balls in the air. When they have two guys who are pretty good in the air with (central defenders Claudio) Suarez and (Bobby) Burling it just played into their hands. We needed to get the balls out wide and create some one on one's and whip some balls in. You're going to create some chances because that's what the defence is giving you."
There was none of that a two goal lead is the most dangerous one in soccer from Preki:
"We were very professional, we knew how to play the game with a two-goal lead - a very good performance by us."
On Nagamura's red card:
"I thought it might have been a little bit harsh. I thought his first yellow was a little bit harsh because it was his second foul of the game .. I advised him to be a little bit smarter next time, you can't take a risk like that."
On goalscorer Justin Braun:
"The kid is working his butt off. He has a good mentality. He works hard. He looks for the ball in tough spots. For a guy who was playing amateur soccer three months ago he's doing extremely well and can only get better."
The game story is here.
Highlights: