Recently on its website, Sports Illustrated published a list of the most hated teams in sports history.

It was all the teams you loved to hate. Whether it be lots of money, dirty play, or just lots of attitude, the team was despised.

One more thing that especially got most of the teams vilified was that they won championships.

To American soccer fans, Rafael Marquez is a villain. To the New York Red Bulls, he may just be the bad guy that gives them a winning edge.

Think back to the NBA in the late 1980s and throughout the '90s. Dennis Rodman was mean. He was pierced all over, had tattoos all over, and dyed his hair crazy colors. He wore wedding dresses. He kicked cameramen.

He also, however, led the league in rebounding seven consecutive seasons and was named defensive player of the year twice.

Most importantly, he played a key role in three championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Detroit Pistons (a team infamous for its "Bad Boys" moniker).

Marquez has an awful reputation with soccer fans in the United States.
He is the captain of the Mexican National Team, the United States' arch rival. In the two teams' match up in the 2002 World Cup he was red carded for purposely head butting Cobi Jones. There was also the World Cup qualifier in 2009 where he kicked goalkeeper (and fan favorite) Tim Howard.

It’s all enough to earn him status as public enemy number one in the states.

However, he has captained three Mexican World Cup teams, all of which made it to at least the knockout round. He was a French Ligue 1 Best Defender and named Best North American player in 2005.

He's won the Ligue 1 championship once with Monaco, La Liga four times and the UEFA Champions League twice with Barcelona, and the FIFA Confederations Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico.

He's tough, he's skilled, and he's a winner.

Marquez will play central midfield for the Red Bulls. His possession and passing ability will link the defense to the offense, creating more scoring chances.

He will be the enforcer if anyone tries to rough up high-priced forward Thierry Henry.

He will bring some of the 79,156 fans that crammed New Meadowlands Stadium to watch Mexico face Ecuador to Red Bull Arena.

He could also get a few red cards and encourage some animosity from outsiders to himself and the organization.

But no one in New York will care as long as this villain helps to finally deliver a championship.

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After a miserable last place finish in 2009, the New York Red Bulls have completely changed the entire organization in 2010.

From getting a new coach in Hans Backe and a new general manager in Erik Solér to moving into the beautiful new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, the Red Bulls are quickly becoming an organization that almost every Major League Soccer organization should be modeling themselves after.

To further boost the "new Red Bulls," the Red Bulls are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the Columbus Crew, a major step forward after a miserable season the year before.

But, New York was still not finished, as they signed Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez to join their side as the Red Bulls look to win their first ever MLS Cup.

With the signing of Henry, the Red Bulls now have another amazing finisher to go alongside Juan Pablo Angel at the top, and Marquez will now provide some much needed stability in the back for a league that has no defender that shares Marquez's qualities.

But these moves are not only fantastic moves for the New York Red Bulls, but also for Major League Soccer.

Picking up Henry and Marquez now allows the league to operate on new mediums that the league could have only dreamed of several years ago.

For starters, Henry is a goal scorer who will help to draw soccer fans and some casual sports fans into arenas across the country.

Henry is still capable of scoring some incredible goals, and he really could have a great ending to his career in MLS.

Meanwhile for Marquez, he will help to tap interest into MLS from a huge Latino population in the New York metropolitan area.

Of course, Marquez was the captain of Mexico in the 2010 World Cup, and can really help sell out Red Bull Arena by getting Latino fans to fill its seats.

But perhaps the most important factor in the signings of Henry and Marquez is the fact that the Red Bulls used their two remaining Designated Player spots on these two.

Of course, MLS wanted to get more clubs to sign Designated Players with the new labor agreement allocating a maximum of three Designated Players as long as the club using the third Designated Player (the Red Bulls) paid a $250,000 luxury tax to be evenly distributed to the other 15 MLS franchises.

Now, clubs will be looking to sign up more top players from around the world as the Red Bulls have just done.

Already this summer, we have witnessed the signings of Blaise Nkufo and Álvaro Fernández to the Seattle Sounders, Branko Bošković to DC United, Mista to Toronto FC and Nery Castillo to the Chicago Fire to join Henry and Marquez in New York.

Now, the Designated Player really is doing what it was originally intended to do by bringing in some fantastic foreign talent into America, and it will help soccer continue to grow after the success of the 2010 World Cup.

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Coach Sigi Schmid and his Seattle Sounders have been traveling so far and often that premium frequent flyer miles would be a seemingly deserving reward.

Seattle Sounders FC plays matches 3,000 miles apart this week. Sounders FC can clinch a place in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage with a win or draw at El Salvador's AD Isidro Metapán on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT in a match carried on the Fox Soccer Channel.

Seattle then returns home to seek to continue its climb up the Western Conference of MLS when it hosts the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night at 8 p.m. PT.

The Metapan match is a return engagement of the Seattle meeting last Wednesday won by the Sounders 1-0 on a 40-yard second half missile by striker Fredy Montero seconds after he came off the bench.

In a postgame press conference, Metapan coach Edwin Portillo conceded that his club would face a daunting task the following week against a Sounder squad whose personnel impressed him.  Given the 1-0 loss, Portillo acknowledged that it would be tactically necessary to play more aggressively to compensate for the one goal to nil defeat.

Portillo acknowledged that his strategic intention in the Seattle contest was to play for a tie, after which home pitch advantage could assist his team in holding off the visitors.

Conversely, Coach Schmid is looking at a situation where, given Metapan’s necessity to take chances, the risky play will render it more potentially vulnerable in the scoring department.  On the surface, the Sounders look to be in a good position to move on to the next competition stage by scoring one goal.

With the Sounders playing their soundest defensive soccer of the season, and having already shut out Metapan at home, it would be unlikely for Seattle to give up more than one goal at best.  Hence, should Seattle be able to score once and hold the home team to no more than one score, the Sounders would then advance.

All eyes will be on Fredy Montero to see if he can continue his streak.  The Colombian has gone eight games in which he has garnered a goal or an assist.

On Sunday the Sounders host a team in Houston that has been encountering problems.

Hence, Schmid should remind his team about the D.C. United match at home earlier in the season.  Coming off an impressive win over the New England Revolution, the Sounders were upset by the D.C. team 3-2 as Chris Pontius scored two goals and was close to a hat trick, the third prospective score being ruled an on goal instead.

After the Houston Dynamo game it will be back on the road for the Sounders the next week for an August 14 contest against Chivas U.S.A. in Carson, California.

Considering how much traveling the Sounders have been doing recently, a flight to Los Angeles is a short trip indeed.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are in state of flux as they head to Juan Roman Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico for the second leg of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round against the Puerto Rico Islanders.

It will be a tough go for the Galaxy, which is running a two-game losing streak with defeats to the Islanders and the Chicago Fire. Breakdowns in the defensive backline have led to goals aplenty from Colin Clarke's club, who ran away with the first leg to the tune of 4-1.

The Islanders can afford to lose 3-0 and still advance due to the away goals rule. Because of this, either of these instances needs to happen: the Galaxy must win by four, or score five goals while leading by at least three.

Again, let me reiterate: the Galaxy must win by four, or score five goals while winning by at least three. That is a pretty tall task to ask.

“I’m sick of giving up goals and I’m sick of not winning at home,” said Galaxy captain Landon Donovan after the Chicago Fire defeat. “Maybe our attitude isn’t right and maybe we’re focusing on things off the field and not our jobs, but we’re going to have to learn and learn quickly.

“I’ll just say that we’re disappointed with the last few results. But at the end of all of it, we still look up and we’re still in first place in the league. We need to learn, we need to get better and we need to improve, but there are a lot of team’s that are in a lot worse shape than we are right now.”

The L.A. Galaxy manager echoed the same sentiments on Sunday.

“Our technical aspects have been poor because we should have been scoring goals from the run of play,” Arena said after the match. “We could have scored five goals tonight and we didn’t.

“Players can get a little complacent when they look at the standings and I think that some of our guys have done that recently. When you forget about the things that got you to where you are, it’s going to be harder to get back, there’s nothing good about this in my view, no matter if we’ve got 40 points or 15.”

After the Chicago match, Gregg Berhalter said, "Thankfully this run has come in August instead of in October. But we’re like a beaten dog right now, and it’s time to get aggressive and not care about failing and just go out and do it.”

The Galaxy currently have a 12-4-4 record (40 points), still the best record in Major League Soccer. While the Puerto Rico Islanders are 6-7-5 (23 points), their place at the bottom of the USL Conference of the USSF D2 Pro League is misleading, given their scoring form in the first leg.

Watch for Nicolas Addlery to work his magic alongside David Foley and Josh Hansen. Addlery score a brace against L.A. on Wednesday and will look to bolster his production. The Islanders will also look to Richard Martinez to thwart a Galaxy attack in need of goals.

This will all go down to who Bruce Arena fields. But even if he fields his starters, I can't see this Los Angeles Galaxy side advancing. They have paid the price for the defensive lapses, and they will continue to do so on Wednesday.

The second leg of this home-and-home is where I like to be proven wrong. But with the way things have been going right now, I just don't see it happening. In fact, I am calling for Puerto Rico to win this.

The Galaxy need to get their priorities straight. There is no excuse for them taking the U.S. Open Cup and now the CONCACAF Champions League lightly.

Again, Los Angeles needs to prove their doubters wrong. This is a golden opportunity to do so. In the meantime, let's try this prediction ...

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.

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The Seattle Sounders FC announced Monday that midfielder Peter Vagenas has been placed on the disabled list. The reason is a right quadriceps strain.

As a result of his injury Vagenas, 32, is required to miss six games. Included in that number was the San Jose Earthquakes match on July 31.

Vagenas is eligible to return to MLS play for the September 9 match in Seattle against the Real Salt Lake.

The 5-8, 163 pound Vagenas is in his tenth season in Major League Soccer. He played college soccer at UCLA.

Vagenas has started all seven appearances in 2010 and has played a total of 542 minutes.

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Red Bull New York has announced the signing of Mexico National Team Captain Rafael Márquez as the club’s third designated player. Márquez signed with the MLS side on a four year deal worth $25 million, as reported by ESPN Deportes reporter John Sutcliffe.

“I am excited to be joining the Red Bulls,” Márquez said. “Despite having the opportunity to fulfill my contract with Barcelona, coming to New York and playing in Major League Soccer was a chance that I could not refuse. I am completely committed to doing my very best to help the Red Bulls in their playoff push this year and compete for championships in the years to come.”

Márquez and his former club FC Barcelona came to an agreement to terminate the defender’s contract with the Catalan side over the weekend, a deal which would have kept Márquez in a Barcelona shirt till 2012. FC Barcelona held a sendoff ceremony for the Mexican captain on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Camp Nou.

While at FC Barcelona, Márquez won two UEFA Champions League Cups, four League titles, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Spanish Cup, three Spanish Super Cups and three Catalan Cups. Márquez played a total of 242 games for the Spanish giants and scored 13 goals, most of which were from free kicks and corners as is his specialty.

In an interview with Sandra Sarmiento of FCBarcelona.com Márquez stated “I have completed a cycle with Barcelona and seven years is a long time. I have won everything and now I want to play regularly and have more minutes. I talked with Pep and he has other priorities and I am ambitious and do not want to sit on the bench or in the stand watching games. That is why I have left.”

Previously to playing in Spain the Mexican had a four year stint in France with AS Monaco from 1999-2003. Marquez helped the French club win the League title in his first season and was named the Ligue 1 Best Defender in 2000 before leading them to a French Cup and Supercup.

Márquez began his professional career at Atlas of the Mexican First Division. At 14, he went for a trial with the Atlas youth teams and was one of only two boys chosen out of one hundred. He made his debut in the Mexican First Division when he was just 17 years old and quickly cemented his place in the starting eleven. In 1999, at 20 years old, he led Atlas to the final of the Mexican Summer Tournament, where they lost on penalties against Toluca.

Internationally Márquez has captained Mexico since 2002 and has tallied 94 appearances. His trophy cabinet includes the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The move is just another blockbuster from the wealthy New York team in what club executives hope is a dangerous trifecta as Márquez teams up with recent DP signing Thierry Henry and the club’s first DP Juan Pablo Angel.

Márquez is familiar with Thierry Henry as both were teammates at FC Barcelona. Henry, of course, recently signed with New York in a departure from FC Barcelona similar to Márquez ’s. Juan Pablo Angel is arguably the most successful Designated Player in Major League Soccer to date as he is New York’s all-time top goal scorer, completing the feat in his first three years with the club, and led RBNY to the 2008 MLS Cup Final.

Although Henry and Angel make up in what is already regarded as the League’s most dangerous duo, the Red Bulls have struggled defensively. The Márquez signing is expected to better the New York defense and make New York an obvious contender for the MLS Cup.

Red Bull New York will hold a press conference on Tueday, Aug. 3, 2010 at Red Bull Arena to introduce Márquez to members of the media at 1:15 p.m. ET.

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If you thought I had lost my mind when I said that we haven't seen the worst from the backline of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, I suppose you may have to get your head on straight.

With that being said, I have come up with two conclusions: either I am hexing this backline for their inability to deliver in the clutch, or the culprits are hexing themselves for failing to deliver in the clutch.

For the sake of argument, let's go with the latter.

On Sunday, the Galaxy's defense of Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Gregg Berhalter, and Todd Dunivant set a new low (if not all-time) for themselves by giving up two goals in as many minutes (to Marco Pappa and Collins John) in the first five minutes of play.

I am confident this defense is playing like they want to get walloped by Real Madrid in Pasadena on Sunday. Actually, they probably will anyway. See my preview on that match later this week.

But it seems as if the Fire looked at the game tape from the debacle against Puerto Rico, and saw the weaknesses in the backline. And it shouldn't surprise anyone that Carlos De Los Cobos's club knew which holes to exploit.

Never mind that the shot selection, and passing by the Galaxy  was worth several head scratches on numerous occasions. And has Edson Buddle lost his scoring touch?

The No. 14 had a plethora of opportunities to get on the sheet, but for some reason unbeknownst to this pundit, he's lost his form. It's not a pleasant sight, and I am sure he knows it.

With the transfer window still open, if I am Bruce Arena, I have to look at getting someone who can bolster this back line, and end the dry spell they are putting on themselves.

The away leg to Bayamon is a suicide mission, and the friendly with Real Madrid is all but a foregone conclusion.

The Los Angeles Galaxy's defensive backline need to get their form back, and go back to the fundamentals ad nauseum. Otherwise, by the time the G's find their wheels en route to the postseason, it will be too late.

Youth Academy Update

Oh, the futility! Apparently the first-teamers weren't the only Galaxy side struggling on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Galaxy Under-20 did the rounds at the United Soccer League Super-20 North American Championships, but lacked the capability to finish where it mattered most.

For group play, the Galaxy were placed in Group C for this tournament.

Against the Brooklyn Knights, goals by Eder Arreola, Markus Dickerson and Andre Turoldo combined with a scintillating performance by Dickerson in goal gave the Galaxy a 3-2 victory over the Brooklyn Knights.

On Friday, they pitched a 3-0 shutout against Triangle FC through an Evan Raynr brace to go with an insurance goal from Ruben Valencia.

On Saturday, a goal from Arreola was enough for the Galaxy end group play unbeaten with a 1-1 draw against Cincinnati United Premier. That set up a semifinal date with the hosts Chicago Fire. The Galaxy bounced back with a 2-1 victory over the tournament hosts through goals from Raynr and Mario Alvarez.

The Young G's wrapped up tournament play against Columbus Crew Juniors Gold, the Crew's premier youth development side. A goal from Gyasi Zardes was not enough as goals from the Crew's Ben Speas, and Travis Wall deal the Galaxy a 2-1 defeat.



Well, this team can beat Puerto Rico in their sleep!


Real Madrid arrived in Los Angeles on Friday to prepare for the August 7 encounter with the Galaxy in Pasadena. The team is managed by Jose Mourinho, the same Jose Mourinho that helped lead Inter Milan to the UEFA Champions League crown.

“Mourinho is a winner,” said Cristiano Ronaldo. “His training sessions are spectacular. They have great intensity. We are all very happy to have him.

“We are very excited and working very hard. We have to keep this level of excitement up in order to win titles.”

Real Madrid will play against Club America on August 4 in San Francisco before their August 7 friendly with LA.


Chicken thief number seven: Marco Pappa

This was the spark behind the Fire's hot start. He sliced apart the back line in the fourth minute of play. You know, I'm starting to wonder if the match fitness of this defense is starting show its wear and tear.

Marco Pappa proved that the Puerto Rico loss was no joke. He preached it to the choir of nonbelievers on Victoria Street like a burly ordained minister selling salvation in his hands.

Testify, chicken thief.


A toast...to parity!

It's not very often that the best team in West is not the best team in the West, and the worst team in the West plays well enough in the manner of the best team in the West to topple the best team in the East.

Even more rare, the worst team in the West is Chivas USA, the Galaxy's shared tenants. With their 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew, Major League Soccer preached another word over the weekend: Parity.

Ladies and gentlemen, a news flash: this MLS Supporters' Shield race is a long ways away from being decided. Case in point: this weekend.

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Flushing Meadows Corona Park, New York - During the halftime of the Copa NYC final match between Poland and Jamaica, Brazilian great Pele made a rare appearance to announce the return of the once NASL five-time powerhouse champion, the New York Cosmos.

As the Cosmos Honorary President, Pele made it clear to the thousands of fans in attendance that the goal of this Cosmos organization is to develop a Youth Program that will develop world-class players.

As stated in their Press Release:

"The New York Cosmos have already agreed to a unique partnership with Queens-based youth club BW Gottschee, who has 60 years of experience, passion and success at a local and national level.

"The Cosmos Academy, as they will be known, will field teams from U12-U18 and participate in the US Soccer Development Academy."

"Furthermore, The New York Cosmos have acquired the Copa NYC tournament, and beyond running it every year in New York, they will be looking to expand it both domestically and internationally in order to engage more local communities to participate in the ‘global game’ at a grassroots level."

Along with this announcement, New York Cosmos are aspiring to becoming the second New York team for Major League Soccer.

A date hasn't been set when it will actually happen. For more information, please visit www.nycosmos.com

On the day the New York Cosmos announced their return, Poland defeated Jamaica 5-4 in penalties to win the 2010 Copa NYC when former Red Bulls forward, Chris Karcz converted his penalty kick.

Cesar Diaz is the Soccer Editor 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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T-180 minutes to kickoff: Man, what the heck just happened on Tuesday? Bruce Arena must have rounded up a bunch of imposters posing as the Los Angeles Galaxy to go out on Tuesday at the Home Depot Center against the Puerto Rico Islanders. The lack of form could be a problem this afternoon against the Chicago Fire.

T-170: I almost typed "Chicago Red Stars" by mistake on the previous paragraph. That's WPS. I am used to writing that phrase rather than "Chicago Fire" because I first got my big break on Bleacher Report writing on Women's Professional Soccer. (And how about FC Gold Pride? They are running away with the regular season crown right about now.)

T-160: The Los Angeles Galaxy are still at the top of the 2010 Major League Soccer standings, but they sure aren't playing like they deserve to be at the top, having had a string of poor performances in the past several matches. You know, this was the dry spell that I was hinting at in my preview of the D.C. United contest, and whether or not the Galaxy will snap out of their funk starting today remains to be seen.

T-150: The Chicago Fire are not out of a playoff spot by any stretch of the imagination. They have a number of matches in hand over the Galaxy, and wins in all of them will put them in the hunt for the playoffs. Currently, Chicago has a 4-5-5 record (17 points).

T-140: This little history lesson on the Fire is brought to you by Yours Truly Incorporated, unofficial sponsor of the View from Victoria Street.

The Chicago Fire Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois that participates in Major League Soccer. The team was founded on October 8, 1997, on the 126th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the event in fact gave the team its name.

In 1998, their inaugural league season, the Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup (the "double"). They have also won the 2000, 2003, and 2006 U.S. Open Cups.

T-130: The Fire feature a complete developmental system consisting of the Chicago Fire Premier (a Premier Development League team and a Super-20 League team), the Chicago Fire Development Academy, and the Chicago Fire Juniors youth teams. The club also administers a charitable community organization, the Chicago Fire Foundation (formerly the FireWorks for Kids Foundation).

The official club colors are red and white. Over its history, the Fire have also employed navy blue, sky blue, and black as alternate or accent colors.

T-120: A couple hours to kickoff at Victoria Street. Lineups:

Silviu Petrescu is our head match official today. Fabio Tovar and Adam Garner are the linesmen and Baldomero Toledo is our fourth official this afternoon.

T-110: There is something about the atmosphere at Toyota Park at Bridgeview which makes it one of a kind: allowing the stuff of tifosi that normally would not be allowed at the HDC, which is a drag.

Supporters groups and ultras groups occupy a standing area directly behind the north goal in the Harlem End of Toyota Park (Sections 117 and 118) that is referred to as Section 8. This term originates in the numbering of their section at Soldier Field, as well as the American military designation of soldiers declared mentally unfit. 

Section 8 Chicago, the Independent Supporters' Association for the Fire, oversees the activities of the many groups. Though incorporating a variety of support styles from both Chicago and throughout the world, groups as part of Section 8 are allied and generally fall under the ultras' designation. The Section 8 Chicago ISA is also a non-profit organization recognized by the state of Illinois.

T-100: Aside from the supporters' groups, the club is well known for its stadium-wide vocal and visual support, particularly for matches of great competitive importance. Call-and-response cheering amongst the crowd is commonplace. Fans at Toyota Park for Fire matches periodically engage in acts of tifo to show their pride and inspire the players on the field, one of the few American environments to do so.

T-90: We are an hour and a half away from kickoff, and I wanted to go ahead and talk a little bit more about Toyota Park. This is a 20,000-seat facility located at 71st Street and Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview. Toyota Park was developed at a cost of around $100 million and opened on June 11, 2006.

Toyota Park also hosts the Chicago Machine of Major League Lacrosse and the Chicago Red Stars of Women's Professional Soccer. Only the stadium's east end stands are used for these events.

The stadium hosted its first competitive international with a 2010 World Cup qualifying match on September 10, 2008 between USA and Trinidad and Tobago.

T-80: Designed to incorporate traditional stadium features from both American and European facilities, Toyota Park includes mostly covered seating, a brick facade and stone entry archway, and first rows that are less than three yards from the field. It also includes 42 executive suites, six larger party suites, the Illinois Soccer Hall of Fame, and the Fire club offices, as well as a large stadium club/banquet room measuring over 9,000 square feet (840 m2).

T-70: A practice facility with two fields (one natural grass, one artificial turf) for the Fire club and its youth programs is adjacent to the stadium. The stadium's design is expandable to 30,000 seats without great cost for future growth. The natural grass stadium field includes a $1.7 million turf management system including full heating, drainage, and aeration capabilities and measures 120 yards (110 m) long by 75 yards (69 m) wide.

A permanent stage was incorporated into the stadium design to not only facilitate hosting concerts but also to be able to quickly change from stage configuration to soccer configuration and vice-versa. At Toyota Park, a typical conversion takes less than 18 hours to complete, and an additional 8,000 chairback seats can be accommodated on the field for concerts and other stage events.

I will be posting a play-by-play of the action from Toyota Park between these two sides on September 4.

T-60: An hour remaining to kickoff, and the hope here from the Galaxy camp is for a rebound to form. I personally can't wait to take a glimpse of the 2009-10 Real Madrid side on August 7.

Edson Buddle put the hellish month that was July in perspective. “It puts you in check,” Buddle said during training last week. “The game always does that to you when you get a little relaxed or you get a tough game or you lose at home. Those [tough stretches] kind of put things in perspective for you.

“You need that, especially at this time. It could have happened later on in the season, but to happen at midseason is probably a good thing.”

We'll see if Buddle's prognostication (which echoes my thoughts mentioned at T-160) is on the money.

T-50: In other MLS action, the Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution drew 1-1, the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas also drew 1-1, the Houston Dynamo drew 2-2 with the New York Red Bulls, the Kansas City Wizards defeated Toronto FC, Real Salt Lake routed D.C. United 3-0, the Seattle Sounders shut out the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 and in the shocker of the week, Chivas USA took out the Columbus Crew 3-1.

T-45: Both teams go through warm-ups.

T-40: “It’s the biggest game of the year,” said Chicago Fire winger Patrick Nyarko on the match. "We just need to worry about ourselves and prepare ourselves mentally. 

"We know we’re a good team. On any day, we can beat anyone if we play that total 90-minute game we know we can play.”

T-30: A half-hour to go. The Galaxy lead the all-time series at 15-14-3. The Fire acquired Freddie Ljungberg over the past week. I wonder how he will spice things up today. By the way, Nery Castillo is not playing today; heck, he's not on the bench, either. Oh well.

T-20: U.S. Army Pvt. Jair DeJesus Garcia was a brother of Los Angeles Riot Squad founder Eddie "Gunner" Garcia, and was killed in action two years ago in Afghanistan. Jair was a season ticket holder for the G's, and today marks the two-year anniversary of his death.

The View from Victoria Street offers its condolences, and my heart goes out to the Garcia family and the good friends from the Riot Squad.

T-15: The Fire will have added incentive to beat the Galaxy, as some sort of payback for their 2-1 semifinal exit in the Super-20 League semis on Saturday night in Rockford, Illinois at the hands of the Young G's.

Both teams conclude warm-ups. Some porristas from Cal State Dominguez Hills and the local high schools are on the premises. I personally prefer cheerleaders in shorts rather than skirts, but that's just me.

T-10: A few more tidbits to run you through here: Donovan needs one goal to earn his 100th in MLS. Will today be the day? You can only hope the Fire are foolish enough to force a penalty...

“You hear all this stuff about the best defense and the best defense, and maybe you start believing it,” Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter said prior to the match today. “And once you start believing it, you’re in trouble.

“You always need to work. You always need to want to improve and want to get better and that’s where we’re at right now. We have to go back to the drawing board and [figure out] what got us here, what made us successful, and then start finding some of that again.”

T-5: This is match No. 19 for the G's in league play, while it will be No. 15 for the Fire.

T-0: National anthem by Shar Jackson.

FIRST HALF START: 4:36 P.M. PT

1' - Let's get this started, shall we? And who will steal the chickens from Chicago, if applicable? Throw-in for the Galaxy. The Fire's Sean Johnson with the grab.

2' - The Big Cat from Montego Bay, Donovan Ricketts. Now back come the Galaxy. Now how did Edson Buddle botch that shot? Here they go again, running on kryptonite...

3' - Tristan Bowen should have done better. Here come the Fire. Omar Gonzalez on sweep duty.

4' - GOAL! Chicago Fire 16 Marco Pappa
What is going on with this team. Even with the full house they can't defend their way out of a wet paper bag. Pappa steals the chickens...

5' - GOAL! Chicago 15 Collins John
...with Collins John as his accomplice. And this is just unacceptable. Two goals in as many minutes? The Chicago Fire must have been looking at the tape from the Puerto Rico match, and must have seen some type of weakness in this side.

6' - Well ladies and gentlemen, the question now is

8' - That corner went nowhere, and fast. Buddle should have done better.

10' - Gregg Berhalter has to be kicking himself, but so should the Galaxy forwards. They are playing on kryptonite.

11' - Eleven minutes in and it's 2-0 Chicago. Terrible corner from Landon Donovan.

12' - Lousy shot from Birchall.

13' - Back come the G's. Not a smartly taken free kick.

14' - This forward attack from the G's continues to disappoint. I don't know who is playing a terrible game: the Galaxy forwards or the back line.

15' - Buddlvan connection was off on the timing.

16' - Too forward a ball. This side is living and dying by the long ball, and that's not going to work against these side.

Not again; they let Collins John get too much space in the middle.

18' - Omar Gonzales with the cleared chance by Patrick Nyarko.

19' - GOAL! Chicago Fire 18 Mike Banner
This is becoming a rout. And if you ask me, this team is going to be doomed on Wednesday.

21' - Corner for the Fire. I think we're gonna need a calculator by the time this game is over.

22' - You know, I feel bad for the fans here. They could use a refund a la Seattle.

23' - Here is Todd Dunivant. And Tristan Bowen gets carded for the sliding challenge.

Yellow card 17 Tristan Bowen
Los Angeles Galaxy

24' - Good dispossession by Krzystof Krol.

Poor shot from Edson Buddle, and that has been the epitome of the Galaxy attack today.

26' - Carlos De Los Cobos's Fire have figured this team out with this 4-5-1 formation, and they didn't even need Freddie Ljungberg or Nery Castillo here.

27' - 27 minutes in, and you are not in the Twilight Zone when reading this scoreline; it's 3-0 Chicago.

28' - Back come the Fire on the attack. 

29' - Not a good feed from Birchall to Bowen, and that is easy pickings for Sean Johnson.

31' - Here's Dunivant with the throw-in. Lamentable shot from Omar Gonzalez.

32' - It's been a rough year for Chris Birchall, and he is shaken up. 

33' - Sean Franklin setting things up, and Birchall is just not getting any room. Free kick to the Fire.

34' - There you go, Donovan Ricketts. Throw-in for the Fire's Dasan RObinson.

35' - Can these guys do anything right? Another blown finish for Buddle. I think that is in the running for "Blown Finish of the Century."

36' - And here comes a chance for Landon to earn Number 100...

Yellow card 14 Patrick Nyarko
Chicago Fire.

37' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 10 Landon Donovan
...and there it is. But they have a long ways yet to go.

38' - Robinson is fouled and is shaken up.

40' - Donovan gave it a go from that angle, but the timing didn't seem to be there on the connections.

41' - The Galaxy midfielders need to use their feet as brooms.

42' - Solid tackle from Logan Pause. A textbook challenge on Tristan Bowen.

43' - Corner for the Galaxy. The Fire will need to crank up the defense for the rest of the match.

44' - Sean Johnson with the punchout. Back come the Fire, and now the backline will be scheduled to be chewed up in the change rooms at the break.

45' - How many minutes, Mr. Baldomero Toledo? Two minutes of stoppage time.

Yellow card 9 Jovan Kirovski
Los Angeles Galaxy

45 + 2' - Terrible header by Kirovski. We're heading to the break, and the fans are not liking this. 3-1, Chicago.

Halftime Stats:

Shots
Chicago Fire 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 10

Shots on Goal
Chicago Fire 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 10

Saves
Chicago Fire 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 1

Fouls
Chicago Fire 6
Los Angeles Galaxy 4

Corner Kicks
Chicago Fire 1
Los Angeles Galaxy 3

Offsides
Chicago Fire 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 1

SECOND HALF START: 5:40 P.M. PT

46' - Halftime's over, time to go back to the grind. So far this match echoes the Puerto Rico match in a lot of ways. The Fire have taken a page out of the Islanders' playbook and struck with precision, using their team speed to break through the porous Galaxy back line.

Los Angeles will be searching for answers as we get this half underway. Sean Johnson resets for the Fire.

47' - Here's Sean Franklin, trying to get help from the midfielders. Foul on the Fire.

48' - Ambitious shot from Gonzalez.

49' - Back come the Fire. And Michael Stephens exhibits his frustration. Franklin's touches have been on par; can't say the same for the rest of the white shirts.

50' - That's Johnson's best save of the day. Not a lot of mustard on that hot dog for Buddle. He has been struggling as of late.

51' - Free kick for the Galaxy after the Krol foul. Donovan to take. And Sean Johnson can save that in his sleep. This is wonderful goalkeeping from the Chicago keeper.

53' - 53 minutes in, and it's 3-1 Chicago Fire here at the Home Depot Center. 

54' - Yellow card 11 Chris Birchall
Los Angeles Galaxy

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 8 Dema Kovalenko
OUT 11 Chris Birchall

55' - Petrescu, for the most part, is calling a good game. The Galaxy have been playing a poor game.

56' - It may be too soon to say, but we may be having an upset weekend of the worst kind: the top sides in both conferences falling.

57' - Michael Stephens, you have to take a chance, young man. Wasted opportunity.

IN 8 Freddie Ljungberg
OUT 16 Marco Pappa

58' - Heeeeeeere's...Freddie! That was my worst Ed McMahon impersonation right there.

59' - More horrid passing from the Galaxy, and solid defending from the Fire. It's a tale of two cities, and a tale of two teams. Goal kick, Sean Johnson.

60' - The Galaxy are playing with empty eyes right now, and it's showing today.

61' - 61 minutes in, and it's still 3-1 Chicago.

62' - Los Angeles is not playing the team that ran off to a fast start. It seems the opposition has already figured them out already.

63' - And Dunivant would be wise to just stick to defending because that shot was atrocious. Sean Johnson hasn't had to do much work today.

64' - And it's pretty easy to see why: Chicago's back line is better than LA's today.

65' - Substitution Chicago Fire
IN 13 Deris Umanzon
OUT 14 Patrick Nyarko

66' - Yellow card 8 Dema Kovalenko
Los Angeles Galaxy

Frustration foul on Krzysztof Krol. He walks with a limp.

68' - 68 minutes in, and if we see any goals, the fans will like to see it come from the men in white.

Yellow card 2 Todd Dunivant
Los Angeles Galaxy

All right, looks like Petrescu is cracking.

69' - Horrid touch from Sean Franklin. Goal kick Fire. This should be all gravy now for the visitors.

71' Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 21 Alan Gordon
OUT 26 Michael Stephens

And I think Bruce Arena just threw in the towel with that sub, but we'll have to wait and see.

72' - Bowen nearly pulled off the Keystone Kops on that ball...even though in all fairness, the Kops were here since the fourth minute of play.

73' - Bad shot from Bowen. 

74' - Another bad one from Bowen, this time in Sean Johnson's direction.

75' - We are 75 in, and the boo birds have come out to greet Baggio Husidic. 

76' - Substitution Chicago Fire
IN 28 Steven Kinney
OUT 9 Baggio Husidic

77' - Another shot in the direction of Sean Johnson, this time in from Sean Franklin. At least now know which Sean is better.

78' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 88 Alex Cazumba
OUT 16 Gregg Berhalter

79' - Corner for the G's. Penalty after that was wrecked. Cazumba was fouled.

81' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 10 Landon Donovan
That's a brace for Landon.

82' - The Galaxy can still salvage a draw, but they have to work quickly.

83' - That throw-in was wasted.

84' - Horrid! You space in the open, you have to capitalize. The G's didn't do that. 

85' - No foul called by Silvio Petruscu when it it was obvious that one of the Galaxy players was impeded.

86' - 86 minutes in, and it's 3-2 Chicago.

88' - Here's a corner for Los Angeles. High header from Edson Buddle, and boy, hasn't he struggled?

89' - Here's Freddie Ljungberg, and that will be a goal kick.

90' - And Fire will let that one go out of bounds. Goal kick, Sean Johnson.

90' + 1' - Four minutes of stoppage time. The passing has been out of sync today.

90' + 2' - Neutralized. And golly me, what is Edson Buddle doing? 

90' + 3' - Yellow card 25 Sean Johnson
Chicago Fire

90' + 4' - Wasted free kick, and that just adds to the misery that was today. Well, this was certainly not the best way to begin the month of August, and the slump continues.

Attendance for this match: 20,348.

Stay tuned for my take on this contest on The View from Victoria Street and Bleacher Report.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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