David Beckham

Somehow, a media throng did not congregate outside the Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, northeast London, on Friday, May 2, 1975. The plain, white, unassuming maternity ward -- "Looks like an office building from the outside," said the hospital's press officer Lucy Reeve -- probably went about business as usual. Even now, she says, "It's not really something that's brought up day to day. People might bring it up every now and then."

It was, not surprisingly, to the well-favored Meson Txistu restaurant on Plaza Angel Carbajo in the heart of Madrid, that David Beckham, his family and his friends weaved their celebratory way late on the night of June 17. Real Madrid had just won its first Spanish championship in four years, in Beckham's final game for the club, and the mood was festive.

It's all about saving face, now, for Major League Soccer. David Beckham is history. He has said he wants no more of MLS, no more of the Galaxy, no more of Los Angeles. The Beckham circus has moved on and Milan is its latest stop. Lawyers are negotiating just how the 33-year-old can wriggle out of the five-year contract he signed with MLS in 2007. They will succeed. A deal will be cut. That's the way of the business world. Then the spin doctors will step in.

If David Beckham thought soccer was tugging him this way and that in 2009 -- with the conflicting demands of the Galaxy, AC Milan and England's national team -- 2010 will be even more demanding. On Thursday, Tim Leiweke, the chief executive of AEG, which owns the Galaxy, said the Major League Soccer team would be "honored" to loan Beckham to AC Milan once again next year. Speaking at a soccer conference in London, Leiweke said he wanted the deal finalized in the next few weeks so that the Galaxy could concentrate on the MLS playoffs without any distractions.

David and Victoria Beckham touched down in Los Angeles two years ago like celebrity meteors, sparking showers of attention and speculation about which restaurants they would favor, which A-listers they would befriend and what Victoria would do with herself. After all, the whippet-thin fashion plate was already a pop culture force in her own right. In the 1990s, as Posh Spice, she was a member of one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, the Spice Girls.

David Beckham is assured of spending the winter and spring playing in Italy after the Galaxy and AC Milan on Monday finalized an agreement that will send him on loan again to the Serie A club. Beckham, 34, spent the first five months of this year with Milan and wanted to repeat the experience to earn a place on England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. "I need to give myself the best chance possible to make the World Cup squad, and playing for Milan on loan will help me do that," Beckham said in a statement.

Whatever it was that got into David Beckham on Saturday night, the Galaxy needs to find it, bottle it and give it to him in regular doses. Beckham was everywhere, turning in 90 minutes of nonstop running in one of the most energetic and rewarding performances of his three-season spell in Major League Soccer. Productive too. Beckham scored one goal, created another and, but for bad luck, might have scored three as the Galaxy defeated Toronto FC, 2-0, at the Home Depot Center to solidify its MLS playoff chances.

Of all the NBA Finals injuries real and imagined, we've sorely neglected to detail the severe bruising suffered by many Staples Center patrons' hands. You know, from sitting on them. As if battling history and hopelessness is not enough, the Lakers will have to beat the Boston Celtics today with one home court tied behind their back. They will have to keep their season alive in a place that's gone dead. They will have to wound a giant with plastic Staples.

If David Beckham wants to play for England at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa he needs to leave Major League Soccer right now. Not on loan, not for just a short training spell with AC Milan or any other European club that comes calling, but for good -- his own good and that of the Galaxy.

1_Intent on becoming the fifth player in history to play 100 games for England, David Beckham on Tuesday sent an unequivocal message to England Coach Fabio Capello, his former mentor at Real Madrid. "I'm as fit as I can be," the Galaxy midfielder told the BBC after several weeks of training with Arsenal. "I'm fit and sharp and I'm ready to be selected. Hopefully I've worked hard enough this month to get myself picked in the squad." England plays Switzerland Feb.

David Beckham is assured of spending the winter and spring playing in Italy after the Galaxy and AC Milan on Monday finalized an agreement that will send him on loan again to the Serie A club. Beckham, 34, spent the first five months of this year with Milan and wanted to repeat the experience to earn a place on England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. "I need to give myself the best chance possible to make the World Cup squad, and playing for Milan on loan will help me do that," Beckham said in a statement.

A couple of weeks ago, David Beckham was holding forth in the Galaxy locker room after a victory over the Chicago Fire when the conversation got around to the beard he was sporting. Was it a disguise to allow him to slip into Ukraine unnoticed with the rest of England's national team? "No," Beckham said. "I just got lazy. It'll probably be gone tomorrow." Hair today, gone tomorrow? No way. By the next day, it wasn't gone. The beard accompanied Beckham to Europe for England's World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus.

Galaxy midfielder David Beckham says a deal for another loan to AC Milan is "95% done." Beckham was loaned to AC Milan from last January through the end of the Serie A season, then returned to Major League Soccer in July. He wants to play in Europe again to ensure he'll stay sharp and earn a place on England's World Cup roster for the fourth time. "It's close," Beckham said. "I've always said I want to go back there if they want me. AC Milan have said they wanted me back since I left to go back to the United States and they're saying the same now. "It's 95% done so I don't know why it wouldn't happen now. It will be sorted out in the next month, and I will probably be going there at the end of December.

If David Beckham thought soccer was tugging him this way and that in 2009 -- with the conflicting demands of the Galaxy, AC Milan and England's national team -- 2010 will be even more demanding. On Thursday, Tim Leiweke, the chief executive of AEG, which owns the Galaxy, said the Major League Soccer team would be "honored" to loan Beckham to AC Milan once again next year. Speaking at a soccer conference in London, Leiweke said he wanted the deal finalized in the next few weeks so that the Galaxy could concentrate on the MLS playoffs without any distractions.

Whatever it was that got into David Beckham on Saturday night, the Galaxy needs to find it, bottle it and give it to him in regular doses. Beckham was everywhere, turning in 90 minutes of nonstop running in one of the most energetic and rewarding performances of his three-season spell in Major League Soccer. Productive too. Beckham scored one goal, created another and, but for bad luck, might have scored three as the Galaxy defeated Toronto FC, 2-0, at the Home Depot Center to solidify its MLS playoff chances.

England can win the World Cup in South Africa next year, Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said Wednesday. Of course, so can Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and possibly a dark horse or two, but confidence is riding particularly high on England's national soccer team. "You have to go into a competition believing that you can go all the way," Beckham said before the Galaxy's morning training session. "I believe that we've got a chance -- if we play like we've been playing and have that togetherness that we've shown all the way through the qualifiers.

Far away from the criticism he has been taking in the States for being a part-time player with the Galaxy, David Beckham is taking criticism in England for being a part-time player for the English national team. Beckham recently became England's most-capped outfield player, breaking World Cup winner Bobby Moore's record of 108 national-team appearances. But critics have called Beckham's record-breakers "cheap," as he has earned them by coming off the bench in the second half. "It amazes me," Beckham said.

David Beckham missed the Galaxy's practice Thursday at the Home Depot Center because of back pain that he said flared up a few days ago. Beckham, who has played in only two Major League Soccer games this season because of his loan to AC Milan, said he hoped to resume training today to play for the Galaxy against powerhouse FC Barcelona on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. "I've got slight back pain, but it's not a problem," he said Thursday.

. -- David Beckham earned his first assist since returning to the Galaxy, setting up Landon Donovan's first-half goal in a 1-1 tie with the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. The Galaxy (6-3-10) had a winning streak ended at four matches. Kansas City (5-6-6) is winless over its last three matches and 1-2-4 over the last seven.

Manny Ramirez makes a decision to use a performance-enhancing drug to earn additional millions of dollars from his team. He returns from suspension and gets a hero's welcome. David Beckham makes a decision to play soccer for his country and pays $3 million of his own money for the right to do so. He returns to the Galaxy and is booed and nearly attacked. Who says our societal values have gone awry? Don Giudice, Irvine In the article about the confrontation between David Beckham and the obnoxious fans, one of those fans was interviewed and identified as "a theology professor, minister and Riot Squad member from Glendora."