The media is still begging, and begging, and begging Team Great Britain manager Stuart Pearce to let David Beckham into the team. I said previously that Beckham does not have the talent, only the hype.

On Wednesday, that hype led to yet another crushing defeat for the Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-2, to the San Jose Earthquakes at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Surely, his leadership could have inspired the Galaxy to not be hesitant on giving up the goal to the likes of Alan Gordon, a forward that has had a hot streak of scoring against Los Angeles.

Tell the players; "get back, here comes Gordon straight ahead." Instead, they hesitate, and what could have been a point split ends up becoming the culmination of 20 gong show football minutes.

To Beckham's credit, he did break up play and had a passable effort defensively. However, he also committed a handball that led him to receiving a yellow card and Khari Stephenson equalizing for the Earthquakes.

Of course, that isn't all from Becks. From Scott French of ESPN.com...

“Unfortunately, we had someone in control of the game tonight that, every time we've had him, he wants to be the star, and that's what happens when you have a referee who wants to be on 'SportsCenter,' ” he said. "That was disappointing.

"Maybe the decision for the sending off, maybe it was. The penalty? Maybe it was. ... I just turned my back, and my arms were as close to me as they could be. They weren't outstretched -- yeah, it hit my hand, but it could have gone either way. [Opara] falls on the ball in the penalty area, rolls over it a couple of times, touches it with his hand a couple of times. Everyone else sees it apart from the 'star.' ” 

Now there may be those who will tell me this straight up: I allegedly have some sort of agenda with Beckham here. Well, I will let you know that I do scrutinize his efforts because he is a DP and I hold him to a higher standard.

If Beckham really wants to be considered (if by a long shot) for Team GB, he has to develop the type of leadership that will help his team hold on to leads, instead of surrender them. Also, not complaining about the officiating while avoiding conceding penalties could also help Becks' case.

For this game, I will give him the benefit of the doubt due to his noteworthy individual play, but as a leader, he is no Landon Donovan.

Speaking of which, I wonder where the true leader of the Galaxy is...

Rating: 5.5/10

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Quite frankly, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are finding really creative ways to lose matches. Watch your back, Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union, the Galaxy are on a cold streak too and have no signs of letting up.

This won't determine the SuperDraft race, but it does make things interesting. On Wednesday, the Galaxy surrendered three goals in about 20 minutes to Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes, capped off by L.A.'s answer to Mike Magee in Alan Gordon, in their 3-2 defeat at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Well, every loss adds up, and once again, the player ratings are impacted. Let's take a look at this.

Brian Perk: 1

Now, someone explain to me why Brian Perk is even starting as Los Angeles' goalkeeper? He can't stop penalties, he can't stop good set pieces and he gets beaten on a one-on-one by Alan Gordon.

This is not a primetime goalkeeper. Maybe the Los Angeles Blues can use this player between the pipes. Arena should have started Bill Gaudette after Perk stunk it up in similar fashion against Chivas USA.

Oh Josh Saunders...where are thou? (Courtesy of the LA Times's Kevin Baxter)

Sean Franklin: 4

Did well to break up possession for the majority of the match, but simply ran out of gas when it mattered most. He wasn't the only one.

Bryan Gaul: 5

This is a much better center back than David Junior Lopes. Held his own quite nicely, but needs to be able to pull it out for a full 90 rather than a partial 74.

A.J. DeLaGarza: 6

Mr. Consistency on the back line strikes again. However, DeLaGarza gets minus points for hesitating on the Gordon goal.

Hector Jimenez: 1.5

Forget about the goal he scored in the third minute of play. His studs-up tackle on Steven Beitashour in the 59th minute was a clear example of his inexperience and lack of maturity. I don't care how much or how little experience you have, committing these types of brain explosions is unacceptable.

Jimenez's red card changed the dynamics of the match between Los Angeles and San Jose and his presence will be missed when the Galaxy face Houston this weekend.

David Beckham: 5.5

I will elaborate on my piece that focuses on L.A.'s No. 23 later this week, but the bottom line is this: I still don't understand why the media is begging Stuart Pearce—on their hands and knees, no less—to call up David Beckham to Team Great Britain.

It's madness. I have been on the "No Beckham in London" camp for quite some time, and after Becks' leadership failed him on Wednesday (he even had a yellow for a handball), I am firmly entrenched in my own judgement regarding this matter.

Juninho: 4.5

Had a long-range shot from 38 yards that could have made it 2-0 Los Angeles at the half. Also was effective in breaking up play and causing confusion for a majority of the game. Didn't do enough of it, though.

Mike Magee: 5.5

Gets bonus points for his goal in the 73rd minute that had plenty of English on it. The way Mike Magee handles the ball when he has an opportunity to score makes him effective. He can't do it all by himself, though.

Chad Barrett: 3

Never was a factor in the match and needed to get more looks on goal. Then again, it may have been good that he didn't get more looks on goal because we all know the eventual outcome of Barrett's attempts on goal. (Hint: high, over the crossbar, wide left/right...)

Edson Buddle: 2

This is how your play gong-show football: bad touches, half-hearted attempts as dispossession, wasted chances...you know, Edson Buddle couldn't score in a brothel if he tried. But, on the other hand, not being able to score in a brothel is essentially a basic fundamental when playing gong-show football. And Edson did just that.

Kyle Nakazawa: 2

Hold it, hold it. This was not a very good substitution by Bruce Arena, who didn't even use all three subs this contest. If you are a man down, and you want to hold on to a lead, sub in another defender, like Leonardo, who was available. Kyle Nakazawa has not acquitted himself this year, and once again, he showed the 16,512 in attendance that he simply isn't ready to perform at this level.

Nakazawa is just one many players on the Galaxy first team that need to be shipped out later this season, so he's not the only one that is on notice this year.

Michael Stephens: NR

Came into the game late, no rating given.

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Finding creative ways to lose games is an important facet of gong show football. It doesn't matter if you're leading or not or if you're playing a style contrary to gong show football; if you are on the losing end by the full-time whistle, you have mastered it.

There are countless methods to displaying gong show football. On Wednesday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy discovered the ultra-rare "Surrender Three Goals In 20 Minutes While Up Two and Down One Player" method in their 3-2 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes in the first round of the California Clasico.

Here are six things we learned from Wednesday's midweek encounter.

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Chicago Fire midfielder Rafael Robayo wanted more playing time and he got his wish when he was inserted in the starting lineup. As a result, the Fire went on to defeat FC Dallas 2-1 while shaking off a somewhat lethargic first 25 minutes or so.

A Sebastian Grazzini goal right before halftime tied the game at one apiece. A goal by FC Dallas’ Matt Hedge that got by goalkeeper Sean Johnson in the 41st minute of play did not damper the Fire’s spirits. Instead, it ignited them.

In front of 11,947 fans the Fire came out in the second half with a ton of energy. Fire coach Frank Klopas credited that newly found energy to Grazzini’s goal.

Coach Frank Klopas on the goal by Grazzini...

“We gave up that goal in the 41st minute of the game, which is never a good time to give up the goal before going into the locker room. Sebastián scored a fantastic goal-a world class goal. Those are the type of goals that he can score with his ability. I felt that the group was positive and that the goal lifted us going into halftime. We talked more about strategy at the half and they came out with good energy and pushed hard. Sometimes it is difficult with the road trips...we came back from the trip to Portland and we had a great response from the group tonight.”

It was not just the game-tying goal that turned the tide. A great save by Sean Johnson on a free-kick early in the second half gave the Fire some much needed momentum. It was perhaps his best save of the season.

Add to that a game-winning goal by Marco Pappa and you have a win that inches the Fire three points upward in the standings.

Ernest Shepard is an analyst for the Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand.

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Earlier this month, we saw what David Beckham is still capable of doing on the pitch for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Today, in B/R's Viral Video of the Day, we see Beckham doing something even more impressive:

He makes Beethoven cool.

What you're watching here is an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy Note. (Hey! See how they did that with the Galaxy thing?) If you're not into technology, the Samsung Galaxy Note is a smart phone that allows you to do all sorts of newfangled stuff.

Does that include playing Ludwig van Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" with nothing but your feet, a few footballs and a bunch of tuned drums?

Apparently so.

In truth, this is an impressive display from the 37-year-old Beckham, even if the feat probably needed hours upon hours of photographic wizardry to succeed. Playing classical music with footballs: Who would've thought?

Anyway, it's been a busy period for Beckham, who recently flew the Olympic torch from Greece to Britain, where he was announced as "Sir David Beckham." Before that, he visited the White House, where he received a zinger or two from the American Commander Jokester in Chief.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of Major League Soccer's Western Conference table.

But that's nothing for a guy who knows how to play Beethoven with his feet. So, how 'bout some Mozart, Becks?

(h/t 101 Great Goals)

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy look to snap out of their current funk when they host the San Jose Earrhquakes on Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy are currently 3-6-2 and are in desperate need of a result to right the ship and salvage what has been a sorry May for the club.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KDOC and KWHY. The Live Blog will begin at approximately 5:45 p.m. PT/8:45 p.m. ET.

Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2012 Major League Soccer season and all things world football.

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This was supposed to the be the year for Toronto FC. Change had come. Paul Mariner and Aron Winter had brought hope and flashes of progress last year. There was the CONCACAF Champions League win over Los Angeles. There was the revamped squad. And yet it's all gone so terribly wrong. While teams like the San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps have turned the corner, Toronto is lingering at the bottom, still winless.

1. Real Salt Lake (8-3-2, 26 pts.) - Real Salt Lake got a much-needed week off.

2. Seattle Sounders (7-2-2, 23 pts.) - The Sounders went into Vancouver and got an important point.

3. New York Red Bulls (8-3-1, 25 pts.) - New York continues to get results against all odds. Hans Backe is showing MLS what made him so successful in Denmark.

4. San Jose Earthquakes (7-2-3, 24 pts.) - Drawing with Columbus at home wasn't what was expected; it was not a good showing from the Quakes.

5. D.C. United (7-4-3, 24 pts.) - Two solid home wins pushes D.C. ahead of Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference.

6. Vancouver Whitecaps (5-3-3, 18 pts.) - The Canadian Cup is taking its toll on the Whitecaps, but Martin Rennie's side were still able to get a point from a fresh Seattle team.

7. Houston Dynamo (3-3-4, 13 pts.) - A draw with Portland in the mid-week was disappointing, but a draw on Saturday in New England was more than anyone could have expected from Houston after a tough two-week stretch of four games in 10 days.

8. Sporting Kansas City (7-3-1, 22 pts.) - Kansas City just can't find a way to win games now. Sporting has now fallen behind D.C. United in the standings.

9. Chicago Fire (4-3-3, 15 pts.) - Losing to Portland after the Timbers played a mid-week game won't sit easy with Chicago.

10. Montreal Impact (3-6-3, 12 pts.) - To be fair, New York is on a roll and winning the kinds of games no one thought they could.

11. Colorado Rapids (5-6-1, 16 pts.) - Colorado needed to beat a struggling Kansas City side on Saturday to get back in the mix in the Western Conference.

12. New England Revolution (4-6-1, 12 pts.) - The Revolution need to figure out to how to defend set-pieces and how to string together performances. Houston deserved the draw on Saturday and New England deserved to lose.

13. Chivas USA (4-6-1, 13 pts.) - It must feel good to have finally beaten the Galaxy, even if it wasn't pretty or easy.

14. Columbus Crew (3-4-3, 12 pts.) - Getting a draw at Buck Shaw Stadium is the kind of result the Crew needed to stay in the playoff hunt.

15. Los Angeles Galaxy (3-6-2, 11 pts.) - Los Angeles not only lost to Chivas, they also fell below the Goats in the standings.

16. FC Dallas (3-6-4, 13 pts.) - Dallas needs to get more than a point at home when a team like the Union come to town.

17. Portland Timbers (3-5-3, 8 pts.) - Going to Houston wasn't going to be easy, but the Timbers pulled out a much-needed point and carried that momentum into the weekend with a 2-1 win over Chicago.

18. Philadelphia Union (2-6-2, 8 pts.) - Is Philadelphia turning the corner? Or are we just dreaming?

19. Toronto FC (0-9-0, 0 pts.) - How much longer can this go on? How much longer can Aron Winter hold on to his job?

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy face one of their toughest challenges yet: Frank Yallop's red-hot San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday at the Home Depot Center.

The Galaxy are currently 3-6-2 (11 points) and have the worst record in the MLS Western Conference. Meanwhile, San Jose is sitting pretty at 7-2-3 and are second in the West.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be televised by KDOC and KWHY. Here are 10 bold predictions for Wednesday's mid-week clash.

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Well, to be honest with you wonderful readers on Bleacher Report and the View from Victoria Street, there isn’t really much to say about David Beckham’s performance on Saturday night against Chivas USA in their 1-0 loss at the Home Depot Center.

There isn’t much to say, period, because Beckham was on the pitch for the space of 16 minutes and stoppage time.

But I will say this regarding David Beckham: It was simply a selfish move to take part in the torch relay for London 2012. I can’t believe I am still bringing this up. As I said before, David Beckham deserves no part in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

However, as a frequent user of BigSoccer’s Community Forums, some fellow L.A. Galaxy supporters are fearing that David Beckham will be called up to the Olympic team, much to my own personal horror.

This was not the worst performance from Beckham this year (that honor still goes to his efforts against the New York Red Bulls), but it was a performance that should have seen more time but didn’t due to his work in Europe. Why does the IOC even have to consider making Beckham a face of the Olympics when it is clear that he should not have any place in it?

This just baffles me to see that his time in Europe affected his time on Saturday and in essence affected the outcome of the match between Los Angeles and Chivas USA. Who know how things could have panned out if Beckham had played the full 90?

One thing is for sure: David Beckham’s other Olympic-sized obligations made his performance nothing to get worked up about or get impressed with. It was simply a performance that didn’t have enough time to make a definite verdict.

Rating: 4.5/10

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Make no mistake about it, this looks like a rebuilding year rather than a reloading year for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy.

And while the race for the top pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft is months away, the Galaxy are making a early case to challege Toronto FC for the top spot with their 1-0 defeat to Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

At this rate, the Galaxy are looking at a Top 5 selection in the draft (currently No. 4). If they keep this losing streak up, we could be looking at a Top 2 selection for Los Angeles.

Subpar performances result in subpar ratings. Here are the player ratings for Los Angeles Galaxy against Chivas USA.

Brian Perk 5

Brian Perk is no Manuel Neuer when it comes to stopping penalties. Actually, Neuer could help the Galaxy with their penalty-stopping in more ways than one.

Perk's failure to stop Jose Correa was the only low point in what was an average day for Perk, who made only two stops for the entire match. He was also responsible for not being able to clear a ball in the 70th minute.

Sean Franklin 4

Decent on the hold-up play and initiating sequences, but the long-ball delivery has been a problem for Sean Franklin, and Chivas USA did their homework in neutralizing him.

David Junior Lopes 2

The Goat that helped the Goats. Or is it ex-Goat that became the goat the helped the Goats? Whatever the case, any efforts that David Junior Lopes did on defense were essentially nullified—and some—by a brain explosion in the 70th minute on a failed clearance that resulted in his sending off.

A.J. DeLaGarza 5

Average night for A.J. DeLaGarza. Didn't have to do a lot in the back. Made routine clearances and initiated a number of offensive sequences for the Galaxy, but other than that, nothing too remarkable.

Todd Dunivant 5

Like DeLaGarza, it's a more-of-the-same performance from Todd Dunivant on the defensive backline. Was not responsible for the gaffe in the 70th that cost LA, but Dunivant could have done better with the restarts and long-ball delivery.

Marcelo Sarvas 6
Juninho 4

Meshing them together here because they were trying to work with Donovan in the midfield, but they were not helped at all by the lack of forward punch from Pat Noonan or Edson Buddle.

Sarvas, however, did have a better performance than his fellow Brazilian: winning six tackles, intercepting five passes and recovering 11 balls. Best player defensively for LA on the night.

Mike Magee 3

Magee Magic was absent without leave for another week. Oh dear. Never could get a chance to finish on goal or finish a delivery from Landon Donovan. Disastrous display.

Kyle Nakazawa 2

I don't think Kyle Nakazawa has much of a future in LA Galaxy uniform. Maybe he has a chance as a member of the Los Angeles Blues, but I just don't think he has what it takes to make it as a midfielder.

Landon Donovan 6.5

Best player of the game, but in all honesty, he was working with a bunch of lemmings that just could not help him out. Tried to orchestrate opportunities for players like Mike Magee, but Donovan's supporting cast left him out to dry.

Pat Noonan 3

Completely inept. Invisible for long stretches of the contest and had one good chance on goal at best. Pat Noonan is no Robbie Keane, that's for sure.

Edson Buddle 5

You can't win games on simple emotion alone. But Edson Buddle was playing with a look of frustration on his face, and that results in poor play. This was an average outing, given that he came in late in the match.

David Beckham 4.5

If only he did not take part in that torch relay...David Beckham only played 16 minutes and stoppage time and did have a few set-piece opportunities, but he simply did not have enough time to make an impact on the outcome of this match.

Chad Barrett NR

Came into the game late, no rating given.

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