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- The big news today of course is the LA Galaxy announcing a new multi-year contract for Landon Donovan. I wrote an open letter on the topic, because I think it's awesome. For a more objective approach to the deal, the LA Times has a beat by beat recap of events. The most significant takeaway from that article is the expectation that the new deal could take Donovan through to retirement. Did the Galaxy give Donovan five years? Five years at $5 million? That's a nice chunk of change. Nick Green's weekly article for the Daily News papers speculated on Donovan's future, before the official announcement was made. Here's the Sports Illustrated article that kicked off the buzz, and here's Brian Straus' companion column.
- In other news, David Beckham worked out with the club yesterday. Bruce Arena jokingly called it a trial, but it's just an old legend coming back to mix it up with his buddies again. I love that he honest to goodness seems to be doing drills in that picture. It made Jaime Penedo's day, which is great to hear. Beckham was at Dodger Stadium that night, making his rounds around the local sports scene.
- Elsewhere, Clint Dempsey continues to be a big news story. The New York Times has picked up on how much buzz the United States star has made in Seattle. Last weekend's Seattle-Portland Cascadia Cup match was one of the top three attended soccer matches in the world. It's the biggest MLS crowd since last year's October edition of the same match. However, the LA Galaxy's first match in the Rose Bowl still holds the MLS record for attendance.
- Looking forward to this weekend, the San Jose Earthquakes as of now will be without Victor Bernardez and Justin Morrow who both received red cards in their last match. They'll also be without Rafael Barca who is suspended for yellow card accumulation. The Quakes have asked for clarification from the league on the two red cards, and while not an outright appeal to overturn the red card it could get the Disciplinary Committee to look closely at the incidents.