Galaxy

The illusion of purpose and design is perhaps the most pervasive illusion about nature that science has to confront on a daily basis. Everywhere we look, it appears that the world was designed so that we could flourish. The position of the Earth around the sun, the presence of organic materials and water and a warm climate - all make life on our planet possible. Yet, with perhaps 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone, with ubiquitous water, carbon and hydrogen, it isn't surprising that these conditions would arise somewhere.

VS. SAN JOSE When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: KDOC, KWHY; Radio: 1330. Records: Galaxy 3-6-2, San Jose 7-2-3. Record vs. Earthquakes: First meeting. Update: Yes, that really is the Galaxy in last place in the Western Conference, looking for its first win since April 14. And the defending MLS champions will be doing that without two of their highly paid designated players, because captain Landon Donovan and striker Robbie Keane will miss at least the next three weeks because of international duty, Donovan with the U.S. and Keane with Ireland.

Chivas USA has undergone more alterations than Kirstie Alley's wardrobe in its eight seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise. Chivas got its latest new era off to a noteworthy start Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Galaxy before an announced crowd of 18,800 at the Home Depot Center. The win was noteworthy in part because it was the first for Chivas against its stadium roommate since 2007 and just the sixth in 23 meetings overall, vaulting Chivas over the defending MLS champions in the Western Conference standings.

Here's one indication how far the Galaxy has fallen since winning the Major League Soccer Cup six months ago: Last year it led the league with 17 shutouts en route to the title. Wednesday it couldn't protect a two-goal lead for 18 minutes, losing to the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-2, at the Home Depot Center. The game-winner came four minutes into stoppage time when second-half substitute Alan Gordon cut in front of Galaxy defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and Sean Franklin and headed a bouncing pass over keeper Brian Perk.

Today at Kansas City 5:30, Fox Sports West 2 * Site--Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo. * Radio--KTNQ (1020, Spanish). * Records--Galaxy 19-12, Wizards 8-23. * Record vs. Wizards--2-1. * Update--The Galaxy has lost three of its last four. The Wizards have lost six in a row and have the second-worst record in the league behind the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, who finished 7-25.

Galaxy tonight AT CHIVAS USA When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1330. Records: Galaxy 3-5-2, Chivas USA 3-6-1. Record vs. Chivas USA: First meeting. Update: They call this matchup of Home Depot Center roommates the SuperClasico, but there's likely to be nothing either super or classic about a game between two losing teams languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Galaxy tonight AT ALAJUELENSE When: 7 PDT. Where: Alajuela, Costa Rica. On the air: TV: Fox Soccer Channel. Record in CONCACAF Champions League 2011: Galaxy 2-0-1, Alajuelense 2-0-1. Update: The Galaxy beat Alajuelense, 2-0, at the Home Depot Center on Aug. 25 but will be in hostile territory in the rematch at Estadio Alejandro Morero Sota, Alajuelense's home stadium in Costa Rica. Both teams are tied with six points in Group A in the CONCACAF Champions League Standings, so the game is pivotal.

Tottenham Hotspur, one of the iconic clubs in the English Premier League, is set to visit the Home Depot Center on July 24 to meet the Galaxy in an international friendly. The two-match U.S. tour, which is also scheduled to include a July 31 game against the New York Red Bulls, is part of Tottenham's preseason schedule. "Playing the winners of the MLS Cup in L.A. will provide a real challenge. Any team that includes proven international performers like Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and David Beckham are sure to be top drawer," said Tottenham Manager Harry Redknapp, who played in the U.S. with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League.

GALAXY TONIGHT AT NEW ENGLAND When: 4:30 Where: Gillette Stadium On the air: TV: PrimeTicket; Radio: 1150, 1330 AM. Records: Galaxy 11-1-3, Revolution 3-9-2. Update: The Galaxy continues to maintain the best record in the league and it has a six-point lead at the top of the Western Conference. New England has lost three consecutive games. The Galaxy beat the Revolution in the season opener, 1-0, on March 27. — DeAnte Prince

Galaxy today AT HOUSTON Time : Noon. On the air : TV: FS West, TeleFutura. Radio: 1330 (Spanish). Where : Robertson Stadium, Houston. Records : Galaxy 11-6-11, Dynamo 12-8-8. Record vs. Dynamo : 1-0. Update : The Galaxy has a 5-2-7 record away from home going into today's road finale, and the 22 points it has picked up on its travels are the most it has achieved on the road in a decade. Entering this weekend, the Galaxy, Houston and Chivas USA were tied with 44 points in the West, with the possibility of Seattle joining them at 44 and of Colorado being only one point behind heading into the season's final week.

Amazon has begun taking pre-orders for the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S III, but the smartphone will come with a steep price to pay for Americans who don't want to wait. Though the 4.8-inch-screen Android phone is set to release in Europe next week, its U.S. arrival is further away. If you want the phone now, you can pre-order from Amazon, but it will cost you $799.99.

Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who left the team a month ago to enroll in Major League Soccer's substance abuse and behavioral health program, was back on the training field Tuesday. But it's unclear how long it will be before he can play again. Saunders, who held the Houston Dynamo scoreless in last November's MLS Cup final, said he was not being treated for drug or alcohol abuse, attributing his absence to personal issues. "I was under some stress," said Saunders, 31, who started this season as a starting keeper for the first time in his eight-year MLS career.

Two weeks before the Major League Soccer season opened, Jose Domene, 31, Chivas USA's youthful general manager, sat in a rickety school bus on its way to yet another in a series of events to promote a team that had lost its way both on the field and in the community. This year, he pledged, it would no longer be business as usual for his faceless franchise, one that hasn't had a winning season or a playoff appearance since 2009. Thursday he backed those words with action, swinging a pair of major deals that landed his team a dynamic young striker in 19-year-old Juan Agudelo and a rugged central defender in Danny Califf.

Chivas USA has undergone more alterations than Kirstie Alley's wardrobe in its eight seasons as a Major League Soccer franchise. Chivas got its latest new era off to a noteworthy start Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Galaxy before an announced crowd of 18,800 at the Home Depot Center. The win was noteworthy in part because it was the first for Chivas against its stadium roommate since 2007 and just the sixth in 23 meetings overall, vaulting Chivas over the defending MLS champions in the Western Conference standings.

After more than 50 hours of imaging at a variety of wavelengths, astronomers at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile have produced a spectacular new image of the galaxy Centaurus A, one of the most prominent radio-emitting sources in the universe. Centaurus A, about 12 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Centaurus (the Centaur), was discovered in 1826 by British astronomer James Dunlop using the Parramatta observatory in Australia.

Galaxy tonight AT CHIVAS USA When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1330. Records: Galaxy 3-5-2, Chivas USA 3-6-1. Record vs. Chivas USA: First meeting. Update: They call this matchup of Home Depot Center roommates the SuperClasico, but there's likely to be nothing either super or classic about a game between two losing teams languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

James Riley passed through three Major League Soccer franchises in two countries within a matter of minutes last November - all without leaving his living room. Left unprotected by the Seattle Sounders in the MLS expansion draft, he was selected by the fledgling Montreal Impact, which immediately traded him to Chivas USA. So over the next few months Riley had to rent an apartment in a strange city, find a yoga studio, locate the nearest grocery store and - most important - learn the quickest route between his new home and the Home Depot Center.

When: 1 p.m. PDT Where: Olympic Stadium, Montreal. On the air: TV: KDOC, KWHY. Radio: 1150, 1330 Records: Galaxy 3-5-1, Montreal 3-5-2. Record vs. Montreal: First meeting. Update: David Beckham's North American Tour stops in Montreal for the first time Saturday and the expansion Impact is bracing for a record crowd that could reach 60,000. But what kind of soccer will they see? The Galaxy, which has been struggling, played perhaps its worst match of the season last week in a home loss to the depleted New York Red Bulls.