Los Angeles Galaxy-Columbus Crew: Into the Massive Zone

A massive test awaits Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as they face off with the Columbus Crew on May 29 at Crew Stadium.With a 8-0-2 record (26 points), the Galaxy possess the best record in Major League Soccer at the moment. However, they face an equally formidable opponent in Columbus, who are 6-0-2 (20 points) and have two in hand over Los Angeles.The Columbus Crew are led by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who has tallied four goals and assists apiece. He is supported by a cast of capable finishers in Andy Iro, Eddie Gaven, and Emilio Renteria, who have each scored twice this year.Will Hesmer is a capable goalkeeper, having made 30 saves for a 0.75 goals against average. Defensively, Frankie Hejduk has been a workhorse for the Crew with his presence in the backline.Outside of Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan, the Galaxy will have the bulk of their roster ready for this weekend's match. Defenders Todd Dunivant and Omar Gonzalez are the ironmen of the team, starting all 10 league matches played. Defender Gregg Berhalter is the glue behind one of MLS's stingiest back lines.Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts has a 0.22 GAA and has made 26 saves so far this season.Watch for ...

Why The MLS Is The Next Big Thing In US Sports

In American sports, four leagues dominate the professional level in terms of fans, revenue, and interest: the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. However, come summertime, only one league dominates: MLB. Sure, the NBA and NHL Finals go into early June and the NBA draft is in late June, but overall, MLB dominates.  Now I'm a big MLB fan and think it is a great league. However, I know others who would disagree and say that MLB and their 162 game schedule makes it hard to follow a team and games have little importance (unlike NCAA Football and the NFL). Even the NBA doesn't come close to this number of games in a season (82 compared to 162). A single MLB game doesn't even compare to the importance of an NFL game, and understandably so. But in the summer, the only thing that's on is MLB. But there is an upstart professional sports league that plays in the summer and has around a 30 game season (equivalent to a NCAA Basketball season).  The MLS (Major League Soccer) plays throughout June and July and have only 30 games in a season. That makes each MLS game about five times more important than an MLB ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Michael Stephens

This is Part Nine in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. Midfielder Michael Stephens is one hot rookie. Plain and simple. Aside from his boyish looks and youthful charms, he is a player of the future for the Los Angeles Galaxy. On Sunday against Boca Juniors, Stephens showed what his ability could do when he has the ball at his feet. It's his power to dictate off the misdirection and facilitation that makes the Galaxy's No. 26 quite a sensation. Michael Francis Stephens was born on April 3, 1989 in Hinsdale, Illinois. The so-called epicenter of the "teardown" phenomenon, Hinsdale has seen more than 25 percent of its housing stock having been replaced with larger, newer homes for nearly three decades. However, Stephens spent a great deal of his life in nearby Naperville. A footballing hotbed, Naperville is home to a number of business such as Nalco Holding Company, Tellabs, Alcatel-Lucent, and the BP North American Chemical Headquarters (you can get more information on the town in my profile on Brittany Bock right here ). Stephens began his playing career at the Edison Academic ...

Hey Landon Donovan! Get The Los Angeles Galaxy To Europe For The MLS’ Sake

Once again, the Los Angeles Galaxy plan to host the UEFA League Champions for a friendly in August. And once again, the MLS misses the entire problem with U.S. professional soccer: No one cares. It’s just that simple. Sure, bringing Inter Milan to play MLS squads will bring big crowds to L.A. and Dallas for two games, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that the MLS title game almost gets pushed off ESPN2 for Trick Pool. The MLS needs to build a product for the people who are going to watch, and those people aren’t in America. So guess where they should look? Hint: It starts with an E and rhymes with syrup. The market is already there. Europe loves soccer almost as much JaMarcus Russell likes cake. Do you know what my German cousin wanted as his No. 1 souvenir from his only trip across the pond? A David Beckham GALAXY jersey. The only time Californians put “David Beckham” and “Galaxy” in the same sentence is, “The only thing that could hurt our state’s economy more is another David Beckham contract with the Galaxy.” So the MLS should take note and take advantage. Send the friendly to Italy. Inter Milan practically sells out every game, so even ...

This is the Los Angeles Galaxy: Tristan Bowen

This is Part Eight in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. Sometimes opportunity comes at you in the most unexpected of matches. For Van Nuys's Tristan Bowen, it came in the 82nd minute of the Los Angeles Galaxy's club friendly match with Boca Juniors. And it didn't need to have pizzazz like the South American clubs are infamous for. Nor did it have to include a celebration that could draw the ire of the officials and the opposing fans. The goal opened his MLS scoring account, and perhaps the floodgates for the future. You'd be crazy to think that completing sequences and sealing the deal haven't been Tristan Bowen's calling card ever since he began his young footballing career. Tristan Bowen was born on January 31, 1991 in Van Nuys. An integral part of the San Fernando Valley region, Van Nuys was at one time one of the least affordable places to live in California, with the price of a one-family home reaching $600,000 in August 2005. Only recently has the price lowered to more affordable levels such as $330,000-$340,000 in 2009. Van Nuys ...

New York Red Bulls Should Play More of Their Backups in MLS

The Red Bulls began the season on a big high, winning five of six games thanks to a rock solid defense and good finishing in the final third. But after the great start to the season, the New York Red Bulls have fallen back to Earth. The past three games in MLS have yielded losses, beginning with a 4-0 thrashing compliments of the San Jose Earthquakes, and two losses at their new home arena, Red Bull Park, 1-0 to Seattle, and 3-1 to Columbus. In those games, the once focused back line came apart for certain decisive moments of those matches, and the rest of the squad has looked lackluster for large chunks of the games. However, this past weekend, the Red Bulls stunned Italian powerhouse Juventus F.C. 3-1 in a friendly. What was the reason for the excellent offensive output, you ask? Because the so called "Baby Bulls" played the game. The "Baby Bulls" or backups for the Red Bull starting eleven, brought an intensity and attacking flair that had not been seen on the pitch for a couple of weeks. The boys brought this same energy to the US Open Cup victories on April 27 and May 12 over the expansion Philadelphia Union ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Mike Magee

This is Part Seven in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. It's never easy being Mike Magee. Some things are not granted to you, like a chance at striking it rich in Europe, or getting past a season without nagging injuries. But as a soccer player, what can be granted is the opportunity to overcome those challenges and turn adversity into mental and physical toughness and make a success of it. Magee's life is like the winds that swirl Chicago, where he was born on September 2, 1984. Unlike many players on the Galaxy-or MLS for that matter-he went through the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and graduated in 2001 after enrolling in 2000. At the time, teams in Major League Soccer didn't have a youth academy in place. The Bradenton Academy, founded just over a decade ago in 1999, gives the best up-and-comers the chance to train in a professional environment. A typical day for the student-athlete at Bradenton consists of academic classes in the morning followed by sports training in the afternoon. Students at the academy take accelerated courses and ...

Josh Saunders, LA Galaxy Young Guns Pass Tango Lesson With Boca Juniors

There's no denying that it takes two to tango. But there should also be no denying that it takes one clinical goal and one stingy backup goalkeeper to shut down Club Atletico Boca Juniors. Playing without its best players, due to World Cup 2010 commitments, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy took advantage and brought home a scintillating 1-0 victory over the 31-time Argentine Primera Division and six-time Copa Libertadores winners—who had a similarly watered-down roster. In the 82nd minute, Los Xeneizes's defense paid dearly for giving too much space when rookie Michael Stephens delivered the ball inside to Tristan Bowen, who opened his scoring account for the season. The biggest star of the night, arguably, was backup goalkeeper Josh Saunders. Making a head-shaking 13 saves compared to two for Boca's counterpart Javier Garcia. Saunders frustrated Boca's vaunted attack, led by Lucas Viatri (six shots), Matias Gimenez (three shots on goal), and substitute Sergio Araujo (four shots). Garcia, however, is as cheeky as they come. “Our style is superior,” García said. “We played a better game, created far more chances while they only had their one. They didn’t look to take control of the ball.” ...

LA Galaxy vs. Boca Juniors: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

T-180: I have never tasted Argentine cuisine. But I heard that it sticks to your ribs because it's high in protein, but otherwise, that's about it. So I did a little research on das lokal Wikipedia, and I uncovered some interesting delights from Buenos Aires, the home of Boca Juniors (and River Plate and 11 other clubs in the Argentine Primera Division for the upcoming 2010-11 season). For example, did you know that the milanesa napolitana is a regional variation of the schnitzel parmigiana? Or what the locals call pizza in Buenos Aires is the rough equivalent to calzone up here? And they have variations, too: pizza canchera, pizza rellena (stuffed pizza), pizza por metro (pizza by the meter), and pizza a la parrilla (grilled pizza). Take note, CPK... Did you also know that fainá is a type of thin bread made with chickpea flour, AND that it is ordered as a combo with muscat (or moscato) and pizza at pizzerias in the city? With enough steakhouses to make the health-conscious traveler make a detour to Brazil (no, that wouldn't work either because of the churrascarias..run!), asado is an enduring legacy of the Gaucho tradition in Argentina. Try some at La Estancia. I ...

Sigi Schmid Tired of Viewing Same Old Movie

After a frustrating 1-0 loss at home to the vastly improved San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC Coach Sigi Schmid showed creative aptitude in constructing a movie analogy. Schmid saw the loss as a case of playing with motivation through a large part of a match but losing concentration over the short haul with the result being a loss. “You close your eyes for part of a film and you lose its entire thread,” Schmid said. He zeroed in on the fact that the Sounders looked flat, listless, and lacked crispness as well as concentration early in the match, which saw the team lose twice in a row at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field before the home faithful for the only time in the team’s history. “We played poorly in the first 10 minutes,” Schmid said, “and then we rebounded.  The fact we rebounded did not enable us to win and that’s what counts.” In addition to allowing the visitors from Northern California to score in the 11th minute on the game’s only score with a Chris Wondolowski left-footer, there was other evidence Schmid cited of poor concentration in other phases of play. One point he made was the tendency of his players to spend ...