Friday Rant

According to recent study conducted by the Royal Society scientific academy - The United Kingdom's national academy of science - a Tyrannosaurus Rex could outrun David Beckham with a top speed of 40mph. But could it outrun Barry Bonds from a guy in a lab coat?

Of course, the comparison of T-Rex to Becks became instant fodder for cheesy soccer-bashing jokes. One particularly corny bit of failed humor was repeated by 92 Pro-FM DJ Jay Buff when he stated the above comparison, then added "even if they could get a T-Rex to actually take Beckham's place, Americans still wouldn't care about soccer." I don't know what's funnier - the fact that it's impossible to train any animal to play soccer (critics of Nick Garcia may dispute this), or that in the time it took to tell the joke than the Becks out earned the comically-named DJ's entire salary.

Speaking of Becks, did you catch a glimpse of last night's Prime Time Match? Good stuff...if you're a Chivas USA fan. But if you were watching it simply for Becks (or the Gals), how tasty was it to see the Jesse Marsch-David Beckham run ins that climaxed in an on-field fiasco before the close of the first half? The final straw was when Becks was moving toward the Chivas end, and Marsch came up from behind an Bruce Lee'd Becks with a kick to the torso, giving Goldenballs a one-way trip to straigh to the pitch. Becks immediately returned to his feet and confronted Marsch face to face, as Gals and Goats assembled near midfield. In all, two red cards were issued to Alex Zotinca (Chivas) and Kevin Harmse (LA) and the half concluded seconds after the melee' dissipated.

Say what you will about the seemingly - dare I say it - posh lifestyle that Becks has been afforded, but the bloke plays the game with alot of heart. After an 11-hour flight from London after an England-Germany international, he started for the Galas and played a full 90. Think he doesn't take MLS seriously? Watch the final ten minutes of last night's match. The guy's exhausted. True, LA was out of subs, but mustered the energy to try and at least break the shutout in the waning minutes of a match that had been, for all intents and purposes, already decided. Props to Becks for showing the world that not only does he care, but the rest of us should care about soccer here in the States.

Back to the winning side: Maykel Galindo is becoming a revelation for the Goats, and capped his night with a two-goal performance that put him in double-digits on the year for goals scored. Just goes to show that you don't need to be Brazilian, A DPA special, or a highly-touted American to do well in this league. But who knew a Cuban defector would be in the top-5 for goals scored?

It was interesting to hear commentator Dave O'Brien point out that while Galindo was in Seattle playing for USL-1 ball, he befriended Seattle Mariners infielder Yuniesky Betancourt, a fellow Cuban defector, and was contacted by another fellow Cuban athlete, pitcher Orlando Hernandez of the New York Mets. It's interesting because you hear more about the plight of Cuban baseball players coming Stateside rather than the soccer players.

In Cuba, the game is baseball - it's rumored Fidel Castro once played pro baseball before coming into power - while soccer plays a backseat. In any event, it's great to see a kid like Galindo escape the oppressive Cuban regime and ply his trade here in States.