Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Team

David Beckham was ready to leave. Cruz Beckham was not. The scene was the Galaxy locker room in the aftermath of last weekend's Major League Soccer playoff victory over Chivas USA, and 4-year-old Cruz was at the chalkboard, drawing cartoon characters. "Come on, Cruz, it's time to go," Beckham said. "Come on, it's bedtime." Cruz ignored him and kept drawing. Eventually, Beckham came over and, taking the marker from his son, squiggled a line of hair on the cartoon face and added a top hat for good measure.

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 a feud that has a hint of Shaq and Kobe to it. Galaxy forward Landon Donovan rekindled images of that squabble when he blasted teammate David Beckham in Grant Wahl's upcoming book, "The Beckham Experiment," scheduled for a July 14 release.

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 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.

David Beckham will return to the Galaxy in March unless AC Milan makes an offer for the English midfielder that is substantially higher than the one currently on the table. Showing a sudden ability to play hardball when needed, AEG, which owns the Galaxy, said Friday that the Italian club, a three-time world champion and seven-time European champion, had little time left to make up its mind.

As David Beckham moves from a Spanish soccer pitch to delivering a polished sales pitch in his new role as American soccer idol, he will need to make both the Los Angeles Galaxy and its business partners prosper as he collects a hefty paycheck, starting with his guaranteed, $6.5-million salary.

Where next, Landon Donovan? The Galaxy's goal scorer extraordinaire -- 66 goals in 118 games since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2005 -- might be moving on. That's might with a capital M. In the last week or so, Internet chat rooms, message boards and blogs have buzzed with rumors about a possible Donovan move to Paris Saint-Germain of France's Ligue 1. On Thursday, after Galaxy training at the Home Depot Center, Donovan, 27, was...

The 30-year roller-coaster ride ends today for Paul Caligiuri. The youngster who used to bang a soccer ball off a garage door in Diamond Bar three decades ago and who grew up to become one of the finest U.S. players of his generation, an NCAA champion and an Olympic and World Cup standout, plays his final game today. Only 90 minutes remain in his career, an hour and a half in which he hopes to help the Galaxy close its season by defeating the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup final.

Did David Beckham bring the crowd down on his own head Sunday night by taunting, challenging and perhaps even insulting Galaxy fans at the Home Depot Center? That was the contention of several fans Monday in the wake of the Galaxy's 2-2 tie with AC Milan in a sold-out friendly match in Carson.

Home is the player, home from . . . well, just about everywhere, it turns out. Twelve years after he first wandered onto the Rose Bowl field as a Galaxy player in 1998, Clint Mathis is back in town. Back then, he was a rookie, a first-round draft pick from the University of South Carolina with the red soil of Conyers, Ga., still clinging to his boots and the distinct twang in his voice. Now, he is 33 and has traveled the world, playing professionally not only in the U.S. but also in Germany and Greece.

If soccer were a game of checking boxes, Omar Gonzalez would be off to a flying start. Just look at his resume: In 2005, play for the U.S. at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Peru. Check. In 2007, play for the U.S. under-20s at the Pan-American Games in Brazil. Check. In 2008, win an NCAA championship with Maryland and pick up first-team All-American honors along the way. Check. In 2009, get selected in the first round of the Major League Soccer draft by the Galaxy and go on to win the MLS rookie-of-the-year award.

The Galaxy invited season-ticket holders to a lunch-time news conference Wednesday and many fans expected the team to announce that forward Landon Donovan would be leaving for the English Premier League. Instead, the team announced its captain and leading scorer had signed a four-year contract that would keep him in Los Angeles through 2013. "Thank you, Landon!" one fan shouted at Donovan, who responded with a shy grin. And Donovan had reason to smile -- millions of them -- since the value of his contract more than doubles the $900,000 base salary he got from the Galaxy last season, when he led it to the Major League Soccer championship game and was selected the league's most valuable player.

A cold night, two exhausted teams, overtime inconclusive, penalty kicks underway and a national championship on the line. That was the scenario at Qwest Field on Sunday night when Landon Donovan stepped up to take his penalty. The Galaxy and Real Salt Lake had played each other to a 1-1 standstill after 120 minutes, including a half-hour of overtime, in front of a wind-chilled crowd of 46,011 in Major League Soccer's 2009 title game. It had all come down to spot kicks from 12 yards, kicks that saw the Utah side prevail, 5-4, to win its first MLS title in only its fifth season of existence.

David Beckham was standing at his Galaxy locker, the one with the color photograph of him and his three sons in Real Madrid uniform, and he was being adamant. "It's always nice to prove people wrong," he said. "That never gets old, I must admit. "But it's not over yet. We've won this part of it [Major League Soccer's Western Conference title], but there's still another part to win. As satisfying as it is to quiet a few people, it's not over yet." Sometime this evening, it will be over.

David Beckham was ready to leave. Cruz Beckham was not. The scene was the Galaxy locker room in the aftermath of last weekend's Major League Soccer playoff victory over Chivas USA, and 4-year-old Cruz was at the chalkboard, drawing cartoon characters. "Come on, Cruz, it's time to go," Beckham said. "Come on, it's bedtime." Cruz ignored him and kept drawing. Eventually, Beckham came over and, taking the marker from his son, squiggled a line of hair on the cartoon face and added a top hat for good measure.

It was an emotional Sunday evening, with feelings running high in both Major League Soccer locker rooms -- joy in one and despair in the other. Over in the Galaxy's quarters, David Beckham was holding forth on the bumps and bruises he had suffered in a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA that advanced the Galaxy to Friday's Western Conference final, also in Carson, against the Houston Dynamo. "It's sore," Beckham said of his bruised back. "I got a knee in my back and it went into spasm.

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.

Odd, weird, strange, unusual. Or, to put it another way, error, error, error, error. Sunday afternoon's 2-2 Major League Soccer tie between Chivas USA and the Galaxy was not your ordinary MLS playoff game. Not by a long shot. Four goals were scored, and every one of them was the result of a mistake rather than a spectacular play. Chivas took the lead, and the Galaxy tied it. The Galaxy went ahead, and Chivas tied it. The near-sellout crowd of 25,218 at the Home Depot Center was left with mixed feelings.

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.