Mike Magee

David Beckham is now playing for a club team in France and Landon Donovan is in the midst of a self-imposed sabbatical from soccer. So the Galaxy's star power was muted going into its Major League Soccer opener. But veteran Mike Magee filled the void Sunday, scoring three goals in the Galaxy's 4-0 victory over the Chicago Fire at the Home Depot Center. It was the first hat trick of his career for Magee, in his 11th MLS season, and put an exclamation point on a day when the two-time defending champion Galaxy received its rings in a pregame ceremony that featured parachutists and fireworks.

As historic moments go, Robbie Rogers' debut with the Galaxy on Sunday featured surprisingly little drama. With 13 minutes left in a 4-0 rout of the Seattle Sounders, official Alejandro Mariscal quietly called Brazilian midfielder Juninho to the sideline and sent Rogers in to take his place. And with that Major League Soccer -- and perhaps the U.S. sports landscape in general -- changed forever. Because when Rogers stepped on the field he became the first openly gay athlete to play for a professional men's team in one of the country's five major leagues.

The Galaxy announced Tuesday that it has signed midfielders Mike Magee and Colin Clark and goalkeeper Brian Perk for the 2013 season. The signing of Magee, who played a key role in the team's successive MLS Cup victories, was a big one given the team's uncertain status in the midfield. With David Beckham retiring from MLS play and the return of captain Landon Donovan and Juninho uncertain, the Galaxy could enter preseason camp later this month without three midfield starters from last season.

The next time Robbie Rogers takes the field, he will become the first openly gay male athlete to play in a major U.S. professional sport. That opportunity could come as early as Sunday night when the Galaxy hosts the Seattle Sounders. "As an athlete when you step on the field, you step on the field and don't think about other stuff," Rogers said at his introductory news conference Saturday. "So I think it will be quite natural and normal. But after, when I have time to take everything in, then I will say this has been quite a journey for me. " The Galaxy signed Rogers to a multiyear contract after acquiring him from the Chicago Fire in exchange for leading scorer and fan favorite Mike Magee, who wanted to return home to Chicago for personal reasons.

Mike Magee was named the MLS player of the month after the Galaxy forward scored a league-best five goals in March. It's the first time Magee, 28, has won the monthly award in his 11-year career in Major League Soccer. "I have had a successful start to the season and, more importantly, so has our team," Magee said in a statement. The Galaxy's record is 2-0-2. Magee scored three goals in the Galaxy's season-opening 4-0 win over the Chicago Fire on March 3, then scored the game-winning goal in the Galaxy's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on March 23. He also scored a goal in the Galaxy's 2-2 tie with Toronto FC last Saturday.

As if things weren't bad enough for the Galaxy, winless since April 21 and buried in Major League Soccer's Western Conference cellar, the team learned Friday that midfielder Michael Stephens and forward Mike Magee will miss the next game after being suspended by the league's disciplinary committee. Both players were also fined an undisclosed amount, Stephens for a challenge that endangered the safety of an opponent and Magee for aggravated dissent against a referee, a temper tantrum that included throwing a ball in the official's direction in the 92nd minute of a loss to Houston.

Mike Magee chose an opportune time for his first career hat trick. With Landon Donovan on a self-imposed sabbatical, Magee stepped up and helped carry the Galaxy to a 4-0 season-opening victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday at the Home Depot Center. Captain Robbie Keane also scored a goal for the Galaxy, the two-time defending MLS champion. With David Beckham now playing for French club Paris-St. Germain and Donovan not expected to return until later this month, the Galaxy was lacking in star power.

Unmarked on the header. And unmarked, of course, on his trademark cartwheeling celebration across the soccer pitch. Robbie Keane, if nothing else, was thoroughly consistent in helping lead the Galaxy to a 3-0 victory against Vancouver on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson. He set up the first of midfielder Mike Magee's two goals, scored the second goal himself on the glancing header in the 64th minute and thrilled the crowd of 22,959 with his entertaining revelry after the goal.

Mike Magee can smile about it now. But at the time, in the winter of 2009, he was burning the candle at both ends and his soccer career seemed ready to go up in smoke. "I was kind of living a bachelor lifestyle," says Magee, who enjoyed all of what New York had to offer during six seasons there. "Sometimes it was hard to focus and do the right things off the field. " Then, in quick succession, came a trade to the Galaxy, the birth of a child and a new perspective on life and soccer - both of which, Magee says, he enjoys much more now. "He has matured," says Bruce Arena, who coached Magee in New York then traded for him five months after taking over the Galaxy.

PHOENIX -- The Home Depot Center is getting a new name. The 125-acre multi-sport complex on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson will be known as the StubHub Center starting on on June 1, when the naming rights transfer from the chain of home improvement stores to one of the nation biggest ticketing companies. The $150-million complex, designed and built by Anschutz Entertainment Group, has a 27,000-seat main stadium, a 2,450-seat velodrome, an 8,000-seat tennis stadium and an outdoor track facility.

The Galaxy on Sunday night gets its first look at this year's version of the Houston Dynamo, the club the Galaxy defeated in the MLS Cup the last two years to win consecutive Major League Soccer championships. "Obviously they have a little chip on their shoulder ... from the last two Cups so they're going to play us hard," Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee said after the Galaxy practiced Friday at Home Depot Center, site of Sunday's game. The game also is Landon Donovan bobblehead night, and Donovan along with three other Galaxy starters -- forward Robbie Keane, defender Todd Dunivant and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini -- likely will return after missing last Saturday's game with minor injuries.

SANDY, Utah — Mike Magee and Charlie Rugg scored early in the first half, and the Galaxy coasted to a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. Brian Rowe became the first goalkeeper to earn a shutout in his MLS debut for the Galaxy (4-1-2) since Brian Perk in a 0-0 draw against Seattle on July 4, 2011. Magee scored on a header in the sixth minute. Juninho fed him a cross off a free kick into the center of the box and Magee put a perfect touch on the pass as he headed it inside the right post.

Mike Magee was named the MLS player of the month after the Galaxy forward scored a league-best five goals in March. It's the first time Magee, 28, has won the monthly award in his 11-year career in Major League Soccer. "I have had a successful start to the season and, more importantly, so has our team," Magee said in a statement. The Galaxy's record is 2-0-2. Magee scored three goals in the Galaxy's season-opening 4-0 win over the Chicago Fire on March 3, then scored the game-winning goal in the Galaxy's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on March 23. He also scored a goal in the Galaxy's 2-2 tie with Toronto FC last Saturday.

Jose Villarreal, one of the Galaxy's bright young soccer stars, has joined an illustrious group with his bicycle-kick goal Saturday in stoppage time. Did you see the play that made all the highlight shows? Including No. 1 on a certain sports juggernaut? Move over Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and the recently departed David Beckham. Villarreal, the 19-year-old from Inglewood, came in as a substitute against Toronto FC and netted the equalizer in the 92nd minute of a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, who have combined to score 111 goals for the Galaxy, weren't available for Los Angeles on Saturday night. But the team's leading scorer for 2013 was. Mike Magee scored his fourth goal of the season on a penalty kick less than four minutes into the second half, and it was all the Galaxy needed for a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Magee actually had a relatively quiet night, allowing the team's two homegrown starters at the top of the formation, Jose Villarreal, 19, and Jack McBean, 18, to set an aggressive pace for the team, particularly in the first half.

When: 7:30. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: TWC SportsNet, TWC Deportes; Radio: 1150, 1220. Records: Galaxy 1-0-1; Rapids 0-2-1. Record vs. Rapids (2012): 2-0-1. Update: Galaxy forward Robbie Keane (Ireland) and defender Omar Gonzalez (USA) will be absent after being called up to their national teams for World Cup qualifiers. Mike Magee could get the start for Keane, with defenders Leonardo or Sean Franklin as options for Gonzalez.

There have been times this season when the Galaxy has looked like anything but a champion. Good thing appearances aren't nearly as important as results when it comes to the playoffs, which the Galaxy opened Thursday by rallying for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps at the Home Depot Center. Goals from Mike Magee and Landon Donovan during a four-minute span of the second half sent the defending MLS champions on to the Western Conference semifinals against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Mike Magee had a goal and an assist to help the Galaxy overcome the absence of David Beckham and beat the Chicago Fire, 2-0, Wednesday night at Toyota Park. Magee, a native of Chicago, scored in the 23rd minute after Jovan Kirovski converted a midfield turnover into a counter-attack for the Galaxy (8-4-10). The Galaxy was playing without Beckham after he earned a one-game suspension for a red card in Saturday's 2-0 loss to Seattle. In the 54th minute, Magee sent a lead pass to Landon Donovan, who raced 50 yards past two defenders before scoring past goalkeeper Jon Busch.

David Beckham is now playing for a club team in France and Landon Donovan is in the midst of a self-imposed sabbatical from soccer. So the Galaxy's star power was muted going into its Major League Soccer opener. But veteran Mike Magee filled the void Sunday, scoring three goals in the Galaxy's 4-0 victory over the Chicago Fire at the Home Depot Center. It was the first hat trick of his career for Magee, in his 11th MLS season, and put an exclamation point on a day when the two-time defending champion Galaxy received its rings in a pregame ceremony that featured parachutists and fireworks.

PHOENIX -- The Home Depot Center is getting a new name. The 125-acre multi-sport complex on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson will be known as the StubHub Center starting on on June 1, when the naming rights transfer from the chain of home improvement stores to one of the nation biggest ticketing companies. The $150-million complex, designed and built by Anschutz Entertainment Group, has a 27,000-seat main stadium, a 2,450-seat velodrome, an 8,000-seat tennis stadium and an outdoor track facility.