T-180 minutes to kickoff: Today marks the first time that the Galaxy play Thursday night football in Major League Soccer, and it's on the road against FC Dallas at Frisco, Texas's very own Pizza Hut Park, known by many as "The Oven."

T-170: A little info on "The Oven." The 21,193-seat complex got the name because of the summer climate during afternoon matches and the stadium's location below sea level. Add the enthusiasm of supporters' groups such as the Inferno and FCD Nation, La Raza Latina, and El Matador, and you have the ingredients for a rather appetizing unique home field advantage (no pun intended).

Pizza Hut's corporate headquarters are located in nearby Addison, a suburb of Dallas. No surprise that they bought the rights to the name from its former moniker, the [exhaustive] Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Complex.

T-160: FC Dallas was one of the original MLS teams that kicked off the inaugural 1996 season, playing at the Cotton Bowl for their first six seasons. As the Dallas Burn, they earned a U.S. Open Cup in 1997. However, the Burn were not one of the best teams in the league, and it was not until 2005 that they tasted glory again. A season at Southlake Carroll's Dragon Stadium and a final season in the Cotton Bowl gave way to the move to The Hut (another nickname for their stadium) and a rebranding to their current name.

Now as FC Dallas, they earned their first MLS Supporters' Shield in 2006 and were runners-up in the U.S. Open Cup in 2005 and 2007.

T-150: FC Dallas's chief rival is the Chicago Fire. The battle for the Brimstone Cup began in 2001, and was inspired from the team names on both teams at the time: Fire and Burn. Quote Virgil from the Aeneid: "The more the kindled combat rises high'r, The more with fury burns the blazing fire."

Dallas has dominate this series since 2002.

T-140: Another trophy FC Dallas battles for is a howitzer cannon called "El Capitan." This trophy goes between to the winner of the Texas Derby between the Hoops and the Houston Dynamo. FC Dallas reclaimed El Capitan on May 5 with a 1-0 win at Robertson Stadium.

T-130: Finally, there is the Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup, contested between the Hoops and the Columbus Crew. Both teams are owned by the Hunt Sports Group, and this match takes place during the preseason. Dallas defeated Columbus on March 20 by the score of 2-1.

T-120: Holy cow, I realized something: If Dallas defends their Cup, they already got a Treble. You lucky DFW denizens...

Time for the lineups.

T-60: An hour to go before kickoff. FC Dallas's next three matches include a May 27 road test with Chicago in the Brimstone Cup, a June 5 home match with the San Jose Earthquakes, and then a June 26 home tie with Chivas USA.

T-30: Los Angeles's next three matches outside of their May 23 friendly with Boca Juniors include a May 29 road test with the Columbus Crew, a June 5 match at home against Houston, and a June 9 contest at Sandy's Rio tinto Stadium to take on Real Salt Lake.

T-7: Our match referee today is our good friend, Mr. Abbey Okulaja. Peter Balciunas and Adam Gamer are our linesmen and the fourth official tonight is Chris Penso.

FIRST HALF START: 5:36 P.M. PT

1' - We're off. It's time to see what this Galaxy's depth is made of as they head into the gauntlet that is...The Oven.

2' - Throw-in for Dallas. Nabbing some on-campus concessions.

4' - Diving save from Kevin Hartman. The Galaxy are coming out firing, and reset the rotation.

5' - Great to see the Big Cat from Montego Bay, Donovan Ricketts, return from the injury in practice last week. He saves the volley from Jeff Cunningham.

7' - The Hoops will be content to be patient early on as Todd Dunivant throws it in past the touch line.

8' - Jeff Cunningham was off on the timing. That delivery by Atiba Harris on the transition nearly paid huge dividends for the Hoops.

9' - Juninho has to be kicking himself for squandering his own possession there. Offsides on Cunningham.

11' - Just early on, and it's scoreless.

12' - Ugo Ihemelu, a former member of the G's, had to clear that out of danger. Dunivant is dangerous when he has the ball. Corner time.

13' - Bowen was off on that one. This is sure to be a learning curve tonight. Bruce Arena looks on, and realizes that somewhere in the depth of his footballing mind...he ponders the same thing.

14' - Too long, and here's Ricketts with the latest goal kick.

16' - Long ball, and Hartman resets.

17' - Chris Birchall clears that, and here they come...

17' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 18 Mike Magee Assist 17 Tristan Bowen
Magee finally opens his scoring account, and he was onsides, too. Lack of depth? What lack of depth? That's just the FC Dallas defense collapsing on the Galaxy counterattack, brothers and sisters.

20' - Nothing fancy; just a 1-0 lead to L.A.

21' - In other action, the Columbus Crew are leading the New York Red Bulls 2-0.

22' - Dallas on the attack. They are no stranger to equalizers. Can they get one here this half?

23' - Foul on Michael Stephens, says Abbey Okulaja. This is Dax McCarty with the free kick. Snatched up by Mr. Ricketts for a goal kick.

24' - Another foul, this time on Chris Klein for tripping up Benitez.

25' - Good challenge by Gregg Berhalter, stopping FC Dallas' counter. The captain lays down the law for the men in white. Hartman with another goal kick.

26' - Dubious challenge by Omar Gonzalez, and Bruce is not too pleased, as expected. Set piece time.

27' - Magee gets tackled, and it was a clean one by Benitez. Play on, says Okulaja. Hmmmm.

28' - A pass for Zach Loyd is Texas-sized. Throw in. Here come the Hoops once again.

Yellow Card 3 Ugo Ihemelu
FC Dallas

29' - Dunivant butchered that corner. Yeesh. Goal kick for Hartman.

30' - This is Michael Stephens. Magee was offsides. And when you argue the call, you will pay. You can call that with Braille, Mr. Okulaja.

Yellow card 18 Mike Magee
Los Angeles Galaxy

The fans got their own oversized yellow cards too. The cheeky spectators...

33' - A shot by George John goes wide. Corner for FC Dallas. The Inferno get some face time. DFW's footballing hardcore optimists.

34' - Yellow card 26 Michael Stephens
Los Angeles Galaxy

That's three already, and we are in the 35th minute. Hey, if Okulaja is not careful, Don Garber in the MLS Commisioner's Office may have to give him a yellow card for hogging too much attention on tape delay.

37' - There is going to be some physical play. Juninho and Gregg Berhalter laying down the law.

38' - High shot by Harris. Goal kick.

40' - Good shot by Birchall, but an even better save by Hartman. He wants in on the scoring feast, but the white Soca Warrior will need to add a little more scotch bonnet to his shot to do so. Offsides, FC Dallas.

41' - And Brek Shea with the tackle on Dunivant draws the wrath of Okulaja.

Yellow card 20 Brek Shea
FC Dallas

This is going to get ugly with the people on record tonight. And Shea also kicking the ball in frustration probably made the reasoning card more for dissent, rather than the foul on Dunivant.

43' - A.J. De La Garza with the throw-in. Hoops maintain possession, and here is Hartman with the goal kick.

44' - All in all, I'm not too disappointed by the Galaxy this half, but the chippy play leaves more to be desired as Ricketts grabs that for a goal kick.

45' - Gonzalez with the throw-in. Adjustments will need to be made during the break. One minute of added time, says Mr. Chris Penso.

45' + 1' - Great defense from Dunivant, and Ricketts saves that shot from Shea off the Benitez delivery. It's halftime.

SECOND HALF START: 6:40 P.M.

46' - The second half begins. Can the Galaxy add to this lead, or will FC Dallas's equalizing touch confound the visitors from Victoria Street?

47' - Here comes Brek Shea, but the pass from Ihemelu is too long. The long-ball obsession can be bad if you live and die by it.

48' - I have observed that the Galaxy prefer to pass a little shorter. Obvious comparison. Throw-in for FC Dallas, but the defense clamps down.

49' - It's still Columbus leading New York 2-0 in the 2nd half.

50' - Counter for the G's after Ricketts saves that.

52' - More than 50 minutes into the match, and it's 1-0 Los Angeles.

54' - And Omar Gonzalez is there to make a good stop on Shea. Brek's not getting the breaks tonight.

55' - L.A. on the counter. Bad pass on the wing by Juninho.

56' - Goal kick for Ricketts.

57' - In other news on the march, the Seattle Sounders FC are named Professional Sports Franchise of the Year. Is it because they gave fans a refund for the 4-0 drubbing L.A. dealt them?

58' - A series of diving saves from Donovan Ricketts. He does some serious work this minute. Let that be a lesson to not overdo things during training. Best of the night.

59' - And that was a rough foul by Daniel Hernandez on Michael Stephens. Set piece time.

60' - Didn't try to volley it high with the distance, and here comes FC Dallas. And Benitez with the foul. Okulaja already dished out four yellows. No need to be a hog yet again, Abbey.

61' - Although in Benitez's defense, the threat of simulation may have watered things down.

62' - Throw-in for the Hoops. Here come the G's. Some good passes, but FCD is there to force them back in their own third.

63' - Now here is the first sub of the match.

Substitution FC Dallas
IN 12 Eric Avila
OUT 9 Jeff Cunninghanm

64' - Pass for Atiba Harris is too long. Goal kick for Ricketts. Bowen in need of some rehydration. They don't call this place The Oven for nothin'. (Hey, I made a rhyme.)

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 84 Clint Mathis
OUT 17 Tristan Bowen

65' - Dallas back on the attack. Set piece time from Dax McCarty.

66' - Too high and too far right. Goal kick for Ricketts. That's the lowdown in The Oven right now.

68' - Dallas still has time to figure out the defense of the Galaxy. Schellas Hyndman looks like Ebenezer Scrooge with a tan out there. Bruce Arena, however, is hoping that they consolidate their lead and not just sit on their one-goal advantage.

69' - In short, still anyone's game. Brek Shea provides that as his shot misses the far right post. Dangerous ball. Ricketts was beat, too.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 28 Sean Franklin
OUT 7 Chris Klein

Welcome back, Sean...

71' - More solid defending from the Galaxy.

72' - Substitution FC Dallas
IN 18 Marvin Chavez
OUT 20 Brek Shea

Here comes the Honduran international, on loan from CD Marathon.

73' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 9 Jovan Kirovski
OUT 18 Mike Magee

Wholesale changes, perhaps to get some fresh bodies in ahead of the friendly with the Boca boys.

74' - Goal kick for Ricketts.

75' - Fifteen minutes and stoppage time to go, and it's still 1-0 to the Galaxy.

76' - That was too long for Juninho. And here comes a corner.

77' - Substitution FC Dallas
IN 21 Bryan Leyva
OUT 19 Zach Loyd

78' - Too long by Ihemelu. Throw-in for the G's. And the frustration continues.

79' - That was quite a tackle from FC Dallas on Clint Mathis by Bryan Leyva, but no foul. Goal kick for Ricketts.

80' - Hoops on the attack, but the Galaxy counters.

81' - I am not a fan of the Galaxy playing bunkerball for the rest of this game, but if they have to melt the clock without the services of Donovan and Buddle, well...it's a safe option.

82' - FC Dallas has had a good deal of the possession, but they still haven't been able to crack this defense.

83' - Terrible pass down the middle by the Galaxy. Offsides on FC Dallas. But still, squandering the transition, and the counterattack is just deflating when you are bidding to consolidate your lead.

85' - Goal kick for Ricketts. Offsides on Jovan Kirovski.

87' - Corner for the Galaxy. This is Clint Mathis. Taken short for a throw-in.

88' - They are going to melt this clock a little bit. El Matador with some smoke bombs.

89' - Sean Franklin commits the foul on Benitez.

90' - Corner for FC Dallas. The wireless connection here at Devry University's Long Beach center is betraying me.

90' + 1' - Four minutes of stoppage time.

90' + 2' - Goal kick for Ricketts. Seven shots for the Galaxy, only six for FC Dallas.

90' + 3' - Mathis for a foul on Ihemelu, he has a smug expression. Another shot goes wide. This has not been FC Dallas's night. That 6-3 scoreline from last year was going to be some karma coming back, and biting hard. Goal kick Ricketts.

90' + 4' - One more corner, taken short, and Okulaja blows the whistle. That is a wrap.

And stay tuned for my take on this match on The View and Bleacher Report.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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