Seattle Sounders FC will host Chivas de Guadalajara, an 11-time champion, one of Mexico's most popular teams and the 2010 Copa Libertadores runner-up, on Tuesday, October 12, on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, it was announced Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and the match will be televised live on TeleFutura.

"Chivas Guadalajara is arguably the best supported team in Mexico, and as evidenced by their run to the final stage of the Copa Libertadores they are an outstanding side," said Sounders Owner Joe Roth. "Given the loyalty and devotion of both teams' supporters, the atmosphere that evening will be electric."

Chivas de Guadalajara is Mexico's most successful club with 11 league championships. It is famous for using only Mexican players and features many of the country's top performers. They include Jonny Magallón, Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, Alberto "Venado" Medina, and Luis Michel, who all represented Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Other stars on the team include Omar Bravo, Edgar Mejia, Patricio "Pato" Araujo, and Héctor Reynoso.

This is the first visit to Seattle by Chivas de Guadalajara. In 1985 Universidad de Guadalajara faced FC Seattle at Memorial Stadium.

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The venerable Mexican team Santos faced Columbus Crew in the CONCACAF Champions League.

While Santos managed to score a goal within the last minute of the game, the whole affair is an insult to football/soccer lovers everywhere.

Edgar Renteria scored the first goal of the game for the Columbus Crew by kicking the ball into the center of the goal net in the first half. The response of the referee was to annul the goal using as an excuse that he returned to the field without permission.

Anyone can see that this was a legitimate goal, and it could have made a difference in the results of the Crew in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is the same methods used by referees during the 2010 World Cup against the US Soccer team.

The question that is often asked is the following: Are referees biased against a team or a country because they are afraid or because of pure hatred?

I think that we should ask FIFA or those who train referees to be fair and impartial.

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The search for a winning consistency continues for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as they end their month of August with a home date on the 28 against the Kansas City Wizards.

Arena was searching for answers regarding the lack of communication that led to their latest defeat against the San Jose Earthquakes on August 21.

“It bothers me,” Arena said after Monday’s practice at the Home Depot Center. “I think it’s a game where at the worst we leave with a point. That bothers me.

“Gift-wrapping the game, giving away a goal. I don’t want to take any credit away from San Jose, but it’s as bad a goal as we can give up. We helped manufacture a goal for them.”

Defender A.J. De La Garza was also searching for an explanation when asked about the goal scored by the Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski.

“One mistake cost us and I was a little bit part of that,” De La Garza said. “We dominated that game. That’s what happens to us when we win, we might be the team that gets dominated but we win. That’s what we were doing early in the season, like in Columbus. We won (2-0 on May 29) but they say they dominated.

“It doesn’t matter who dominates, it’s who wins at the end of the day. We didn’t get that victory.”

Others, like midfielder Chris Klein and defender Sean Franklin, joined the inquisition party.

“It’s a game on the road maybe we should have gotten a point out of and maybe we should have won, but we didn’t," Klein said during training. "Those are games we can’t let down; we have to prove we’re going to be a consistent team. On a day when you give up a mistake, you gotta get a draw out of that game.”

“That’s how a lot of our losses have been this year," Franklin added. "We’ve made some kind of mental mistakes and given up goals in the first five minutes. That’s not like our team to do that, and we know that.

“It was a tough one to swallow.”

The holidays won't be for several weeks, so gift-wrapping is a habit they will look to avoid as LA looks to better the scoreless draw they had against the Wizards on April 24 at Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kansas.

The Galaxy are still Major League Soccer's best team, with a 13-4-4 record (43 points), while the Kansas City Wizards are on the outside looking in with a 6-9-5 record (23 points).

Edson Buddle's 13 goals and Landon Donovan's 11 assists remain best in Major League Soccer. But the key to Los Angeles winning on Saturday isn't so much a question of offensive production as it is one of defensive communication.

The Galaxy's defensive backline—which has been a topic of major scrutiny this season—must bail goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts out of trouble. With Gregg Berhalter sidelined due to  the flu, the return of Todd Dunivant to the lineup will be crucial to preventing the Kansas City forwards from setting the pace and tempo.

Ricketts has a 0.70 goals against average, a 79.7 save percentage and a 13-4-3 record to go with 55 saves and 10 shutouts. A clean sheet on Saturday will give Ricketts a tie for the club record for shutouts in a single season.

The current record is set by current FC Dallas goalkeeper and former G's netminder Kevin Hartman. Hartman currently has a 0.69 GAA this season.

Among the midfielders for Los Angeles, Juninho will be the X-factor for the Galaxy on Saturday. He will need to utilize his field vision to help set up plays for the Buddlevan Connection in Arena's 4-4-2 Diamond system. Michael Stephens and Chris Birchall need to up their production, as they have underperformed the past several weeks—more so for Stephens.

The Galaxy's finishing has been another weaknesses. The G's will need to complete their offensive sequences and  become more fluid with their looks in the front.

As for the Wizards, Kei Kamara and Ryan Smith are two players will make things tough for the Galaxy defense. Kamara would have been on nine goal for the season had his best chance on April 24 went through.

Kamara currently has eight goals to lead the team this season and will be an important forward to mark. Birahim Diop, Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury and Teal Bunbury all have two goals each this year and will look for a breakout performance.

Ryan Smith is the playmaker to keep an eye out for. He has eight assists to lead the team this year and with the offensive options at his disposal, limiting his ability to spread the ball around will be a priority for the midfielders and back line of LA.

Jimmy Nielsen has a 6-9-5 record in the net, with 60 saves, a 1.15 GAA and a 72.3 percent save percentage.

Prediction:

The return of Todd Dunivant to the lineup could prove crucial to the chances of the Galaxy on Saturday. Expect the home side to make up for their setback last week, as well as they setback on August 1 at the HDC against the Chicago Fire, who they take on next week.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Kansas City Wizards 1

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised locally by Fox Sports PrimeTicket.

INS & OUTS:

Beckham and Berhalter still taking it easy?

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham continued to train with the side, and while it looked like he would be ready to go for the match against the Chicago Fire on September 4, Arena thought otherwise.

“He’s making progress but he’s got a way to go still,” Arena said. “We’re not ready to think that he can play yet.

"I think every week we just have to follow his progress and see how he’s doing. There’s no way of telling how he’s going to be.”

Defender Gregg Berhalter missed Saturday's game against San Jose due to the flu, and his symptoms will likely carry over to the match against Kansas City.

"I don’t know exactly what it is,” Arena remarked. “I don’t think the doctors know either.

“Nothing has changed since the last time we’ve seen him. He’s ill. We don’t know exactly what it is. That’s the job of the doctors.”

Get well soon, Gregg. After all, as the time-honored adage goes, "Your team needs you."

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This is a second-round match competition.  The Sounders suffered a 2-1 setback last week on the road against CD Marathon of Honduras on a controversial penalty call against defender Tyrone Marshall.

Seattle Sounders FC returns home for an important three-game stand beginning Wednesday night at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field against Monterrey in a CONCACAF Champions League competition.

On Saturday night, the Sounders host the Chicago Fire in an MLS match.  Chicago comes in with a league mark full of sixes at 6-6-6 and 24 points.  Last week the Fire saw a three-game win streak halted with a 4-3 loss at Houston.

Saturday’s match marks the first Seattle appearance of Freddie Ljungberg since his trade.  Ironically, the two time All-Star Sounders’ midfielder was ejected only once with the Green Rave.  That came against the same Chicago Fire last year in Seattle.

The home stand concludes Sept. 1 with the Sounders facing Chivas USA in an Open Cup semifinal.  This contest occurs at Tukwila, Wash.’s Starfire Sports Stadium. 

The Sounders, who are unbeaten on the Starfire pitch, will be seeking their first-ever goal against Chivas USA in the history of the franchise.

After Monday’s training session Seattle Coach Sigi Schmid commented on the fact that the Sounders will be facing home opponents in three different types of competition, MLS, CONCACAF and Champions League.

“We want to win all three games,” Schmid said.  “Obviously the league game is important for us because we want to get in the playoff hunt. Champions League is important because you have to win your home games.

"We are in the semifinals and would like to defend the Open Cup as well. So they are all equally important and we are going to approach each game with the idea of putting our best lineup out for each opponent.”

On the subject of Monterrey, Schmid revealed his respect for Mexican soccer teams:

“I think traditionally the Mexican teams have been the stronger teams in the (CONCACAF) competition. Most teams won at home in their first game, which is also pretty normal. But Monterrey has got some talented players.

“(Humberto) Suazo is a World Cup player who is a handful up front. I have seen him play for a lot of years now. I know he didn’t make it in Spain when he went back there but he is still a very, very good player.

"[Neri] Cardozo on the wing is a really good player. [Osvaldo] Martinez is a good player for them. They have different options underneath. [Sergio] Santana has done well for them.

“They have a lot of experience in the back with [Duilio] Davino. They have [Severo] Meza, who likes to attack on the right side. So they have got good quality players, otherwise you don’t win the Apertura in Mexico.

“It’s important for us to play well. Again, I think the Marathón game was important for our team because I think the guys who were in the competition for the first time or playing that type of game for the first time, the uncertainty left them during the game and they said, ‘Wait a second, we have nothing to fear.’”

The next subject that Schmid tackled was the important MLS match with Chicago.

“We still need to get points to move onto the playoffs and Chicago is somebody who is a direct competitor,” Schmid concluded.  “So it’s a six point game. What we look at right now is there are still some teams that have fewer games than us, just like Chicago has fewer games, and we look at if they won out, would they pass us?

“There are about four or five teams that are behind us now that even if they won out their games couldn’t pass us. Chicago is one of the teams that if they won out their games, they could pass us.

"But if we can walk away with a victory on Saturday then we put them into that same position. They can win out their games and they can’t pass us. So that’s what we are looking to do, to keep our distance, so that’s important.”

The Sounders’ coach concluded his comments by discussing the team’s recent heavy travel and how to psychologically adjust to it.

“Our approach is simply each game we want to put out the best team,” Schmid said.  “We want to win every game that we enter into. My feeling has always been as a coach, and maybe in life, maybe it came down from my father to me, it’s just you deal with what you can deal with and you change what you can change.

“I can’t change the distance between Seattle and San Jose, Costa Rica or Columbus or anything like that. It’s something we have to deal with.

"We travel more than any other team within our league already, and being in that competition of the Champions League where all the other teams are going to be south of the border, we are going to travel even more.

“At the end of the day, we can’t do anything to change it, so why worry about it? Let’s just get on with it.”

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Seattle Sounders FC returns home for an important three-game stand beginning Wednesday night at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League competition.

This is a second-round match competition.  The Sounders suffered a 2-1 setback last week on the road against CD Marathon of Honduras on a controversial penalty call against defender Tyrone Marshall.

On Saturday night, the Sounders play host to the Chicago Fire in an MLS match.  Chicago comes in with a league mark full of sixes at 6-6-6 and 24 points.  Last week the Fire saw a three-game win streak halted with a 4-3 loss at Houston.

Saturday’s match marks the first Seattle appearance of Freddie Ljungberg since his trade.  Ironically, the two time All-Star Sounders midfielder was ejected only once with the Green Rave.  That came against the same Chicago Fire last year in Seattle.

The homestand concludes Sept. 1 with the Sounders facing Chivas USA in an Open Cup semifinal.  This contest occurs at Tukwila, Washington’s Starfire Sports Stadium. 

The Sounders, who are unbeaten on the Starfire pitch, will be seeking their first-ever goal against Chivas USA in the history of the franchise.

After Monday’s training session Seattle coach Sigi Schmid commented on the fact that the Sounders will be facing home opponents in three different types of competition, MLS, CONCACAF, and the Open Cup.

“We want to win all three games,” Schmid said.  “Obviously the league game is important for us because we want to get in the playoff hunt. Champions League is important because you have to win your home games.

"We are in the semifinals and would like to defend the Open Cup as well. So they are all equally important and we are going to approach each game with the idea of putting our best lineup out for each opponent.”

On the subject of Monterrey, Schmid revealed his respect for Mexican soccer teams:

“I think traditionally the Mexican teams have been the stronger teams in the (CONCACAF) competition. Most teams won at home in their first game, which is also pretty normal. But Monterrey has got some talented players.

“(Humberto) Suazo is a World Cup player who is a handful up front. I have seen him play for a lot of years now. I know he didn’t make it in Spain when he went back there but he is still a very, very good player.

"[Neri] Cardozo on the wing is a really good player. [Osvaldo] Martinez is a good player for them. They have different options underneath. [Sergio] Santana has done well for them.

“They have a lot of experience in the back with [Duilio] Davino. They have [Severo] Meza, who likes to attack on the right side. So they have got good quality players, otherwise you don’t win the Apertura in Mexico.

“It’s important for us to play well. Again, I think the Marathón game was important for our team because I think the guys who were in the competition for the first time or playing that type of game for the first time, the uncertainty left them during the game and they said, ‘Wait a second, we have nothing to fear.’”

The next subject that Schmid tackled was the important MLS match with Chicago.

“We still need to get points to move onto the playoffs and Chicago is somebody who is a direct competitor,” Schmid concluded.  “So it’s a six-point game. What we look at right now is there are still some teams that have fewer games than us, just like Chicago has fewer games, and we look at if they won out, would they pass us?

“There are about four or five teams that are behind us now that even if they won out their games couldn’t pass us. Chicago is one of the teams that if they won out their games, they could pass us.

"But if we can walk away with a victory on Saturday then we put them into that same position. They can win out their games and they can’t pass us. So that’s what we are looking to do, to keep our distance, so that’s important.”

The Sounders’ coach concluded his comments by discussing the team’s recent heavy travel and how to psychologically adjust to it.

“Our approach is simply each game we want to put out the best team,” Schmid said.  “We want to win every game that we enter into. My feeling has always been as a coach, and maybe in life, maybe it came down from my father to me, it’s just you deal with what you can deal with and you change what you can change.

“I can’t change the distance between Seattle and San Jose, Costa Rica, or Columbus or anything like that. It’s something we have to deal with.

"We travel more than any other team within our league already, and being in that competition of the Champions League where all the other teams are going to be south of the border, we are going to travel even more.

“At the end of the day, we can’t do anything to change it, so why worry about it? Let’s just get on with it.”

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Toronto - Rafa Marquez scored his first MLS goal in the 35th minute to ignite the New York Red Bulls to a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC.

Killing two birds with one stone, the Red Bulls ended Toronto's 17 game unbeaten streak at the BMO Field while silencing their home crowd of 22,108.

By winning their 10th game of the season, the Red Bulls doubled last year's win total and remain in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Today's four-goal performance by the Red Bulls demonstrated the offensive potential this team has when they're running on all cylinders and attacking the net.

Goals by Rafa (35th), Juan Pablo Angel (61st, PK), Carl Robinson (77th) and Toronto's Joseph Nane (44th, own goal) help end the Red Bulls three-game scoring drought in which they were only able to produce one goal while allowing the opposition to score one goal too.

Along with the goals, the defense was simply superb. Red Bulls Goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul has been playing well as off late and the tandem of Tim Ream and Carlos Mendes consistently helped him whenever Toronto was in position to take a shot on goal.

For Thierry Henry, he's yet to produce a score but he came so close in the 56th minute when he fired his shot after beautifully beating his defender. Playing 57 minutes today, Henry continues to play well and it's a matter of time in which he's going to go on a scoring binge.

For Toronto, despite their valiant effort and a beautiful goal by Dwanye De Rosario (49th) in which he nutmegged Goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to reduce their two-goal deficit to one, the Reds had the misfortune of not being able to muster up any more goals.

In addition to the loss, they've positioned themselves with the possibility of not reaching the postseason. Despite their third place standing in the Eastern Conference, there's six teams in the Western Conference with better records.

With an opportunity to avenge their 4-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, the Red Bulls return to Red Bull Arena next Saturday, August 28th to face them. With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Red Bulls need to win as many games as they can in order to secure a postseason berth.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for Latino Sports. Please send him your questions and comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy needed to get continuity from their 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls last week as they took on the San Jose Earthquakes.

Instead, they saw their wheels fall off as they left Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus on Santa Clara University.

A 1-0 defeat came as a result of the one main culprit that has plagued their season as a whole: the defensive back line.

It was another atrocious performance that made you wonder, hey, this team may not win the Supporters Shield and could burn out in the MLS Cup Playoffs. It's been that bad.

And just as bad was the tandem of Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. Even with just one game per week these two are struggling to get their finishing touch.

Landon and Edson, I'm gonna let you know this: in this league, running on kryptonite is the last thing that you want to do, and yet you do it anyway against your NorCal rivals. Where is the touch? Where is the consistency?

Aside from that, I wanted to go ahead and call out a few more while I'm at it:

Michael Stephens has not been much of a contributor to the team. Ever since the match against the Columbus Crew on May 29, I can't think of a single time where he has made a key contribution to Los Angeles.

A.J. De La Garza should have done better marking Chris Wondolowski in the fourth minute, but Donovan Ricketts clearly blew up his chance to make a key save. Instead he goes off his line and leaves himself vulnerable.

Finally, Mike Magee shattered the chances of LA getting back into this game. He had two opportunities to not only tie the score, but give Los Angeles a lead if he had made the first. And they were from close distance.

I believe it's supposed to be textbook finishing. You're supposed to bury those. How Magee, Donovan, and Buddle failed to bury their shots is beyond me. It makes me doubt if they will hold off the likes of the Columbus Crew or Real Salt Lake in the ongoing race for the Shield.

So there you have it. Horrid back line defense and non-existent finishing. You know, this is becoming the story of the Galaxy's setbacks this season. For all of what this team has accomplished, it's a broken record. They just haven't figured out how to be more crisp in their passing and touches in the attacking third. The backline feels as if they haven't gelled yet, and we are in the home stretch of the season.

But to put this loss in perspective, the Los Angeles Galaxy made two critical mistakes as a team: they underestimated their opponent and they underestimated the importance of beating their opponent.

And the fact that they lost the California Clasico in this fashion just proves my point: on Saturday, the Los Angeles Galaxy lost their wheels on the way back from San Jose.

Better call some taxis to bring the boys back home while you still can, Bruce. They need all the help they can get when the Kansas City Wizards come to town. And you won't find those wheels anywhere in sight. No, sir.

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T-180 minutes to kickoff: Prior to the move to Santa Clara University, the San Jose Earthquakes played their matches at Spartan Stadium on the campus of San Jose State University. When the Earthquakes were revived from their hiatus, they began play at Buck Shaw Stadium, named after football coach Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw, beginning in 2008.

Buck Shaw used to be the home of the Santa Clara Broncos football team until the cheeky admins decided to shut it down (no wonder I don't go to church that often). Still though, it's the home of the Santa Clara Broncos soccer teams, and they are good. One of the best programs in the West Coast Conference.

T-170: With a seating capacity of 10,300, Buck Shaw is one of the smaller stadiums in Major League Soccer. This was a 2001 increase in seating capacity from 6,800. It holds the distinction of being the training ground for the Brazil national team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup while holding the current record for highest attendance at a women's outdoor collegiate sporting event: sellout crowds of 8,800 for the 1996 NCAA Women's College Cup.

T-160: Buck Shaw also used to host Broncos baseball matches until 2005, when they got their own ball park. They have held their undergraduate commencement ceremonies here since 2001, weather permitting.

As part of the $4,000,000 in improvements to the stadium, drainage improvements, a new video scoreboard, additional concession and merchandising stands, and modernized/improved facilities such as new lighting, a TV press box, new sound system and a grandstand on the stadium's west side were on the cards at Buck Shaw.

T-150: Today, Buck Shaw is where the second leg of the California Clasico will take place between Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy and Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes. Both teams are deadlocked in a 2-2 draw heading into this decisive leg.

T-140: The scenario is as follows:
* If the score ends in a scoreless draw, a 1-1 draw or a San Jose victory, the Quakes will win the California Clasico.
* If the score ends in a 2-2 draw, a draw higher than 2-2, or a Los Angeles victory, the Galaxy will win the California Clasico.
It's a straightforward deal.

T-130: The arrival of Geovanni will be key to San Jose's fortunes, but where he will be on the field will be critical.

“I had a lot of offers in different places,” said Geovanni during a press conference earlier this week. “The most important thing was I spoke to André [Luiz, the Quakes’ veteran midfielder] and André said it was a great place to live. I talked to John and John treated me very well.

"I thought it would be a great place to come. I’m excited to be here.”

As for the Galaxy, this is chance for them to continue their form.

"[The result at New York] was important because I think for a few weeks now we haven't played to our capabilities and we wanted to get back on form," L.A. midfielder Chris Birchall said in an interview with mlssoccer.com. "We had some heavy defeats, Chicago, even though we got back into the game, it was a hazy 20 minutes where we conceded three and Puerto Rico at home. 
"We knew we could play, and when we play like that as a team, and everyone is on form, we're a very good team."

T-120: We are two hours away from kickoff, and here are the line-ups.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

Manager: Bruce Arena

Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond

Colors: White tops with blue and gold accents, white shorts, white socks

1 Donovan Ricketts

28 Sean Franklin ---- 22 Leonardo ---- 4 Omar Gonzalez ---- 20 A.J. De La Garza

11 Chris Birchall

26 Michael Stephens ---- 10 Landon Donovan (C)

19 Juninho

18 Mike Magee ---- 14 Edson Buddle

Substitutes:

12 Josh Saunders GK

27 Bryan Jordan DEF

6 Eddie Lewis MID

7 Chris Klein MID

8 Dema Kovalenko MID

9 Jovan Kirovski MID

88 Alex Cazumba MID

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Manager: Frank Yallop

Formation: 4-4-2

Colors: Blue tops with black accents, blue shorts, blue socks

18 Jon Busch

20 Cornell Ward ---- 14 Brandon McDonald ---- 2 Bobby Burling ---- 11 Bobby Convey (C)

10 Arturo Alvarez ---- 7 Khari Stephenson ----4 Sam Croning ---- 17 Joey Gjertsen ----

8 Chris Wondolowski ---- 13 Cornell Glen

Substitutes:

24 Alex Horwath GK

15 Justin Morrow DEF

5 Brad Ring MID

22 Omar Jasseh MID

77 Geovanni MID

9 Scott Sealy FWD

19 Ryan Johnson FWD

T-110: CONCACAF Champions League results: Real Salt Lake defeated Arabe Unido 2-1, Columbus Crew shut out CSD Muncipal 1-0 and the Seattle Sounders fell to Marathon 2-1. The biggest surprise win had to come from Toronto FC, who pulled off a 2-1 upset win over Cruz Azul.

T-100: In other MLS play this week, the Chicago Fire defeated the New England Revolution 2-1.

T-90: We have a full slate of MLS action today. TFC takes on the New York Red Bulls, the Crew face the Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas takes on Chivas USA, the Kansas City Wizards take on the New England Revolution, and the Houston Dynamo host the Chicago Fire. Tomorrow, laggards D.C. United face the Philadelphia Union in the pillow fight of the week.

T-80: Just wanted to share with you some info on their mascot, Q, a.k.a. Quakesaurus.

Q was a 26 year old human male who fell into a radioactive fissure in the Earth's crust during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. He eventually emerged from the fissure as an ageless furry blue "creature" with a shock of silver hair and was soon afterward taken in by a family in nearby San José.

No longer having a craving for food, he instead developed a craving for fully caffeinated coffee which caused him to shake and have unlimited energy, leading to constant dancing, running and having an overall great time around large groups of people.

T-70: As longtime Earthquakes season ticket holders, his adopted family took him to a game where he fell in love with the sport and the team, after which the team's ownership hired him and named him Quakesaurus.

Q loves to have his picture taken with fans and enjoys meeting new friends at the games, especially the children who share his love of soccer.

One more tidbit to share here: Q has a similarly furry blue father named Andreas who was publicly introduced at an Earthquakes home game in 2005 just prior to Father's Day. Named after the San Andreas Fault. Clever.

T-60: One hour to kickoff here at Buck Shaw Stadium. It's 73 degrees down on the pitch. Not bad conditions. It's a whole lot better than the dry heat in Southern California.

T-45: The Earthquakes are looking to get a new stadium located west of the San Jose International Airport that will seat 15,000-18,000 spectators. This will be given the new nickname, "The Epicenter." Of course, this is the name of a Rancho Cucamonga ballpark with a similar team name, but that's a totally different story.

T-30: Also earlier today, the New York Red Bull bounced back with a 4-1 win over Toronto FC.

T-15: LA's next three games include an August 28 home stand against Kansas City, a September 4 road trip to Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois to face the Chicago Fire and the first of a four-game home stand on September 11 against the Columbus Crew.

As for the Quakes, they take on the New York Red Bulls at Harrison, New Jersey's Red Bull Arena on August 28; clash with the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on September 5 and return to Buck Shaw on September 11 for a match with FC Dallas.

FIRST HALF START: 1:06 P.M. PT

1' - Alrighty then. We are underway. Terry Vaughn is our match official today.

2' - Service goes out for a Galaxy throw-in.

3' - Some ball movement is in order. Here comes San Jose.

4' - GOAL! San Jose Earthquakes 8 Chris Wondolowski Assist 11 Bobby Convey
Oh dear. Now this is just an amateur mistake by a professional keeper. What a horrid blown assignment by Donovan Ricketts early in the game. He should know better than that.

5' - Completely inexcusable effort by the back line, too. Something has to be done about this. This was not the start they wanted.

6' - Corner kick for the Galaxy. Pathetic header. Take two.

7' - Back come the Quakes, and Chris Birchall is again exhibiting his chronic poor form.

8' - Free kick to the Galaxy. Donovan to take. Another atrocious header.

9' - And Birchall butcher yet again. You know, this might be a chronic habit today for LA. They must snap out of this.

10' - Here is A.J. De La Garza. He is paying the price for letting Wondo get open on the right side. If he earned his stripes last week, it doesn't like he is this week.

11' - Busch with the save.

12' - Predictable set of looks from the Galaxy. Excellent anticipation from San Jose, and here they go on the counter.

13' - Foul on Juninho. This will be a free kick. And let's hope is Ricketts is ready this time. And the back line too...

14' - Good awareness by the back line of the Quakes. Leonardo will need to be careful.

15' - Here's a free kick for the QUakes, and it's blocked. Cornell Glen is called back for offsides.

16' - So here were go again with the back line performing like they did for the lion's share of July and early August, trailing 1-0 to San Jose. Shot for Wondolowski from the same angle wide left.

17' - That shot from Mike Magee had as much creativity as a blank piece of paper.

18' - The Big Cat from Montego Bay, Donovan Ricketts, licks his wounds with this free kick. Sean Frankling with the throw-in.

19' - The passing at the front isn't working well for Juninho, and he is displeased with the foul not turning out in his favor.

20' - Bruce Arena must be think, "Here we go again..." As he should.

21' - 21 minutes into the game, and it's 1-0 San Jose. Birchall dispossesses. Tim Ward with the throw-in for the Earthquakes.

22' - Too long a pass from Leonardo to Michael Stephens.

23' - Vaughn plays advantage, San Jose. Now he blows the whistle and calls the foul. Interesting.

24' - Geovanni, the new addition to the San Jose lineup, looks on in the blazing NorCal heat, and he has to be pleased with the outcome so far.

25' - The G's now go through their next sequence. Please. That was too forward a run from Landon Donovan. Gotta do some passing in the attacking third, No. 10.

26' - Ugh, treachery, Mike Magee! Treachery! How dare you fail to finish that from inside the six-yard box! That's criminal, I say!

27' - And boom, goes the dynamite. Back to action.

28' - Here's Sean Franklin. And Edson is called back for offsides.

29' - Shameful ineptitude on both sides of the ball by the visitors has made this a 1-0 lead to the San Jose Earthquakes.

30' - Now where was Wondolowski passing that to? Goal kick Ricketts. LA resets for their next sequence.

31' - Terrible pace from the Galaxy attack, and Vaughn calls the foul.

32' - This is not good passing from Los Angeles today. And the Earthquakes' Khari Stephenson is a bit shaken up. He's fine, though.

33' - Back to play, and here comes San Jose with the free kick. Throw-in to Ricketts.

34' - And that was a terrible pass from Donovan. This sloppy play since the fourth minute seems to be a terrible habit. More horrid passing. It's a nightmare of offensive ineptitude.

35' - Goal kick Busch. Geovanni looks on, and I think he should have brought his shades with him.

36' - 36 minutes in and it's 1-0 San Jose.

37' - Back comes Los Angeles. And Brandon McDonald, the hero for San Jose the last time, forces a corner.

38' - Sean Franklin wishes he has that one back. That was a terrible header.

39' - And another corner. Donovan is not being creative enough with his shot selection. And that corner goes wide. What the devil is going on with Los Angeles today? Hellish first half.

40' - Here's De La Garza, and Donovan cannot keep that ball in bounds.

41' - There's another shot from Wondolowski that is saved by Donovan Ricketts. Glen is called offsides. Bad free kick from Omar Gonzalez.

42' - Here's a free kick for San Jose that doesn't amount to much.

43' - Well, the back line did their part of the work, but Mike Magee, for a second straight time, didn't. Oh, the tragedy.

44' - 44 minutes, it's still 1-0 Earthquakes.

45' - All right, Abbey Okulaja. How many minutes of stoppage time? One, he says. Busch goes off his line to save that chance for Edson Buddle.

45' + 1' - Speculative shot from Cornell Glen. Halftime, and this was one for them to forget.

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Galaxy 0

San Jose Earthquakes 1

Chris Wondolowski 4'

SECOND HALF START: 2:08 P.M. PT

46' - The second half begins. Los Angeles must figure out how to rally back from this, or their hold on the California Clasico is a done deal. Cannot stress this any further. They have shot themselves in the foot with their back line, particularly A.J. De La Garza, failing to mark trigger man Chris Wondolowski. Can they do it? Let's find out.

Juninho is fouled, and here is a free kick.

47' - Header by Buddle saved by Busch. Pathetic. One would expect better creativity than that from MLS's leading scorer.

48' - They aren't doing themselves any favors with these poor looks, the Galaxy aren't.

Yellow card 4 Omar Gonzalez
Los Angeles Galaxy

Gonzalez has been in heaps of trouble with the cards, and here it is again. And Wondolowski should have made it 2-0 Quakes. This is bad finishing from both sides.

50' - Cornell Glen with the handball. Speculative pass down field.

51' - Stephenson is going to feel that one in the morning from Buddle. Franklin had to make that clearance.

52' - Back come the Quakes. This back line is showing LA how it's done.

53' - Sam Cronin butchered that pass in the front. That pass went a bit too long.

54' - Yellow card 10 Arturo Alvarez
San Jose Earthquakes

Now that was a rash challenge, and it will be a free kick for dissent.

55' - Bruce Arena, a note: do not let Juninho do free kicks ever again.

56' - Franklin with another clearance, but the Quakes surround.

57' - We are 57 minutes in the contest, and it's 1-0 San Jose (3-2 on aggregate) thanks to Wondo's wonder goal. Goal kick, Jon Busch.

58' - Some good passing in the back; too bad they can't replicate that in the middle or the front.

59' - Here's another goal kick for Busch. 

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 6 Eddie Lewis
OUT 18 Mike Magee

61' - Good delivery from Sean Franklin, but no one was in the vicinity. It's hard to be consistent when you can't finish.

62' - The G's are going to have to figure something out at this juncture of the match. 

63' - Gee whizniks, Vaughn decided to play advantage to San Jose again. NorCal bias in the works.

64' - Busch takes his time as he delivers this goal kick.

65' - San Jose will have this back in possession. They have a 1-0 lead and will look to consolidate.

66' - Unbelievable lack of communication in the front, and Ricketts nearly got carded as per the DOGSO rule.

67' - The LA supporters who made the trip aren't pleased with this. They shouldn't be.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 88 Alex Cazumba
OUT 26 Michael Stephens

68' - Cornell Glen missed his marker, but Donovan Ricketts watches that go for a goal kick. This backline is making "sleeping" an art form. It's uncanny.

69' - Alex Cazumba, with the clearance. And Bobby Burling clears the chance for Donovan. Corner. Blown apart. 

70' - Another save from Jon Busch. And another one off the shot bey Gonzalez. Los Angeles is the paying the price for not being creative enough in the attacking third. Where is the intensity/ Where is the pace? And to make matters worse...here comes Geovanni.

72' - Substitution San Jose Earthquakes
IN 77 Geovanni
OUT 13 Cornell Glen 

It's not like he will need to do too much at this point. 

74' - Another save by Busch on Donovan? This LA Galaxy team is running on kryptonite right now, and teams running on kryptonite rarely win matches, if ever.

75' - Ricketts had to dive for that one. 

76' - Lousy delivery in the front. Here's Geovanni.

77' - And he had space in the front. This Los Angeles Galaxy back line continues to pay the price for melting in the back.

Well, they almost did there.

Substitution San Jose Earthquakes
IN 19 Ryan Johnson
OUT 10 Arturo Alvarez

78' - To be honest with you, Long Beach State's women's soccer team are off to a start from hell, and they can pass better than the Galaxy are today.

79' - Corner, Los Angeles. Donovan to take. Busch with another tip. And another poor corner, this time from Eddie Lewis. 

80' - I'm telling this right now: Landon Donovan is not himself today. He is not himself today. Bad form, bad touch, bad shooting, bad everything. And that's putting it nicely. 

81' - Arturo Alvarez looks on, thinking, "My job's done here for today."

82' - Goal kick Jon Busch.

83' - Another foul on the Quakes.

84' - Edson Buddle butchered that shot. Now he is not feeling like himself.

85' - Service from Bobby Convey is cleared for a throw-in. I must admit this: Alex Cazumba needs to get better cleats. He's not getting his footing right.

86' - Ryan Johnson misses his marker, but fails to hit the mark.

87' - 87 minutes in, and San Jose is close to winning, for the first time since 2005, the California Clasico. Corner cleared by Busch.

88' - Here's another. And this is another Jon Busch save.

89' - Ryan Johnson is not doing himself any favors with 
his latest miss. It will be a corner.

90' - Geovanni should have converted that.

91' - Four minutes of stoppage time. Buddle is shaken up a little. And they were not set up on that sequence. 

93' - Another miss from Eddie Lewis. This sums up how bad the Los Angeles Galaxy have played today.

94' - And that is a wrap.

FINAL

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 0

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 1

Chris Wondolowski 4'

After a long period of dominance by the Galaxy, the Earthquakes finally one-up their rivals. Stay tuned for my take on the match on the View from Victoria Street and on Bleacher Report.

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Designated Players can bring a lot of short-term things to the franchises that sign them.

There are the headlines, the extra revenue generated from an increase in tickets and merchandise, and the experience from years of playing the sport in the world’s top league with the top teams and teammates.

The New York Red Bulls are learning that what they won’t necessarily bring, right away at least, is wins.

Since July 15, the Red Bulls have signed former Barcelona stars Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez to go along with their first Designated Player, Juan Pablo Angel.

In the four league games Henry has played in, the team has gone 1-1-2 and has been shut out twice, scoring a total of only three goals—two against the Houston Dynamo in a game that they blew a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the match.

In the two games Marquez has played, the team has not scored or won.

It’s not an encouraging sign for a team that many are jumping on the bandwagon as serious MLS Cup contenders.

However, it is not time yet for the long-suffering New York fans to go into a panic.

Henry and Marquez are just beginning to get their feet wet in MLS. They are transitioning to a new team, a new league, and a new city to live in. For the two stars, it is simply an adjustment period.

Henry has already showed what he is capable of. He assisted on all three goals the team has scored in his four matches. He is linking up with Angel extremely well, and he himself is attacking the goal strong but is just unlucky in the finishing department.

Marquez, a defensive-minded player, has been a major part in why the Red Bulls have only given up one goal in his two games. He helped anchor the defense in holding the Chicago Fire, with Designated Players Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo, scoreless, and surrendered only one goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy, the league’s top team and second-highest scoring team.

While the Red Bulls cannot afford to let up, they are in a good position with the tiniest bit of leeway, enough to win some points and let their superstars get comfortable.

What the fans need is patience.

Had this been last year, who knows what former coach Juan Carlos Osorio would have done. The never-happy, constant-tinkering could have delayed the progress of the team gelling and the players getting comfortable.

But Hans Backe is different. He generally keeps the lineup and formation consistent, and he rides the hot hand. Backe knows the stars the team has acquired and fully understands there is necessary adjustment time. And he will give them that time.

A franchise long infamous for bad luck and silly decisions finally has some hope. There is the second place standing after last season’s debacle, the new stadium, and the commitment to winning bringing in an additional two Designated Players. There is plenty for Red Bull fans to be optimistic about.

Rough patches happen. Some fans may be thinking, “Same old Red Bulls.” But there is plenty of reason to keep hope.

Henry and Marquez will get it together sooner rather than later, and the team will certainly be a dominant force when it does happen.

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The Seattle Sounders were deadlocked 1-1 with host CD Marathon in the group stage opener of CONCACAF Champions League play Thursday night at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras when the deciding play of the evening occurred in the 45th minute.   

Sounders veteran defender Tyrone Marshall had been tenaciously battling Marathon’s Nicolas Cardozo all evening when the two players collided on the Sounders edge of the pitch.  Marshall sought to clear the area with a kick.

What followed was Marshall receiving a yellow card and Cardozo coolly delivering a penalty kick from the box that gave the home team a hard fought 2-1 victory.

The most experienced player on the field, Sounders two time All-Star goalkeeper Kasey Keller, sized up his view of the collision with the expertise of an international professional soccer veteran of 40:

"The ball came over the top and it took a bad bounce. I didn't expect it to bounce that way. I called for Tyrone [Marshall] to head it to me but it didn't get there. I don't know how it was a penalty.”

The seasoned veteran then tackled the essence of the issue, stating, “ I haven't seen the tape but it didn't look like a penalty to me. It looked like two guys swing and kick each others' legs and next thing you know the ball is in my hands and he [the referee] is signaling a foul. I don't know what he saw. It may have been good play by the striker but I don't know. That was frustrating.”

The initial reaction by Marshall was stunned silence.  Meanwhile, his teammates rushed to the scene and protested the call.

The penalty call illustrated once more the issue discussed frequently during recent World Cup television coverage by commentators and experts.  Officials can only expect to see so much.  In bygone days, it was recognized that this was an imperfection that needed to be accepted since there was no viable alternative beyond officials’ spot decisions.

With the advent of video technology, a viable alternative is now present.  Thursday’s call further illustrates the need of reviewing plays with the benefit of video evidence.

The replay in this instance illustrated how and why an official would make such a call as well as the importance of having the camera’s all-seeing eye to review action.  In this case, Marshall’s leg was in motion.  He did make contact with the oncoming player, but it appeared as if his leg was already in motion.

This begs the following question.  Wasn’t this a play like one of those many instances in the National Football League where two players are going for the ball?  In American football the prevalent rule is “Both players have an equal right to pursue the ball.”  In such instances, given that acceptance, no penalty is called.

In the game of soccer, this was a similar circumstance and the same result should obtain.  The only reason, based on review of video evidence, why Marshall made contact was due to the rushing of the Marathon player to the scene.  This contact occurred due to both players making a play for the ball, as Kasey Keller noted.

The official, therefore, seeing Marshall making contact with an opposing player could easily make a penalty call absent the advantage of seeing the play clearly through video technology.  This would have put the issue in a different context.

Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid was tactful, but obviously disappointed by the call that resulted in the evening’s deciding goal.  “The penalty, I thought, was a harsh call,” Schmid said, “but it is what it is.”

Schmid thought that his team performed better in the second half, warming up in the humid evening to the task at hand.  Statistics bear him out in the shot department as Seattle, bolstered by a stronger second half effort, ended the match with a 15-10 overall advantage.

Schmid’s post game comment underscored his belief that the Sounders improved as the game progressed:

"I think our effort in the game (was that) we didn't do well at the outset with [Carlos] Palacios on the one side and [Randy] Diamond on the other side. I think we were disjointed offensively. The last 20 minutes, 25 minutes of the game I thought we had very good energy. In the beginning of the game we didn't have good energy and we didn't see an awful lot of the ball. If you want to see the ball a lot you need to play hard. We need to be better next time."

Despite Sounders difficulties in getting untracked early, one of the most beautifully executed goals of the season occurred in the 17th minute culminating with a score by Roger Levesque, whose last previous goal had been the game winner at D.C. United in the 89th minute July 18.

Levesque was put in a position to deliver a goal producer based on two superb assists.  The first came on a cross from right to left by the irrepressible Fredy Montero, who has provided yeoman duty as the season has progressed both as a scorer and score generator as an assist master.

The assist was the Colombia Comet’s 10th of the season.  This means that he has achieved his earlier stated goal to provide 10 assists this campaign.

Montero’s well orchestrated cross moved into the middle, the territory of Seattle’s veteran midfielder Blaise Nkufo.  A less experienced player may well have either let the ball go or given it a harder kick that would have driven it beyond Levesque.

Levesque needed help to have a shot at a goal, but of just the right kind, which Nkufo provided.  With his body facing forward, Nkufo delivered a gentle swipe with the back of his foot.  The ball accordingly landed at Levesque’s feet, he drove the ball into the back post, and the Sounders were on the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead.

The equalizer was provided in the 27th minute as Orvin Paz took a pass from Randy Diamond and touched it once before driving a low scoring shot to the near post.

The controversial penalty kick of Nicolas Cardozo in the 45th minute closed out not only first half scoring but that of the remainder of the game, but that does not mean that the equally hard fought second half was devoid of thrills and scoring opportunities.

Two Sounders opportunities stand out, both coming near the end of the match.  Nathan Sturgis' corner in the 78th minute found a darting Michael Seamon near the 6-yard box.  Seamon’s resulting header hit the crossbar.

Montero nearly scored in the 89th minute.  He struck a bouncing ball in the box with just the right light touch.  Fate was not on Seattle’s side as Montero’s effort rolled just wide of the far post.

Keller commented afterward about the Seattle opportunities that failed to connect with the net.

“We had multiple chances at the end of the game to get something out of this,” Keller acknowledged.  “Once again, usually you would put in nine of 10 of them but it was just one of those days when it just wasn't going to happen. And that was probably the most frustrating. We know we were better and we should have done better."

The 2-1 setback generates added pressure on the Sounders to defeat CF Monterrey of Mexico in the next round of action, which resumes August 25 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

League play will resume August 28 with Freddie Ljungberg and the Chicago Fire visiting Qwest Field.  After that the Sounders face Chivas USA in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal September 1 at Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila.

Team Captain Keller summarized Thursday night’s action along with Seattle’s ongoing participation in CONCACAF Champions League activity philosophically:

Team Captain Keller summarized Thursday night’s action along with Seattle’s ongoing participation in CONCACAF Champions League activity philosophically:

“We thought we had changed it already but our energy in the first 20 minutes was a bit more selective. We have got to get more pressure on them. We all learn from experiences. It's a long trip. It's hot, humid, we are on a very slow pitch and we just couldn't figure it out. We have got five more games left in this competition and there's nothing to fear playing these teams. We can line up with these teams quite comfortably."

Seattle stands at 10-9-7 overall this season.  Its unbeaten streak of nine matches (6-0-3) over all competitions has ended.

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