Here's one for all the Manchester United fans. Two clips from the official history of Manchester United DVD about the season the club won the historic treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. David Beckham was central to this magnificent achievement and you can see some of his wonderful goals and assists as well as a brief interview in clip 2. A few screen caps are in the gallery.


Update - Sky news are reporting that Ted Beckham is on the mend and doing well which is wonderful news. Reassured by this, David and Victoria Beckham have flown out of London today to return home to LA. Simon Oliveira, David Beckham's spokesman, told ITN, "Ted's much better now. They wouldn't be going otherwise."

The LA Galaxy play the Columbus Crew at 5pm ET today, match preview here. The match will be televised on HDNet and MLSlive TV. They have won their last two matches and so are going for the hat-trick! Go Galaxy! update - They won 2-1! Hat-trick! The match report is online here.

The Press Association report that David and Victoria Beckham were both at the bedside of Becks' dad, Ted Beckham, at the London Chest Hospital, today. Posh arrived in the early hours of the morning after cutting her business trip to Japan short to be at Becks side.

They arrived at the hospital around 11am for a three hour visit. They were accompanied by a security detail who cleared a path through the photographers waiting at the hospital gates. It is just as well that the media are prevented from entering the hospital grounds and accosting the Beckhams as they go into the hospital.

(Source) Simon Oliveira, David Beckham's publicist, told AP "He [Ted Beckham] is conscious and talking, and that's a positive step". A spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed that his condition remains stable. Let's all continue to pray that Ted Beckham is on the road to recovery. Update - I've added a few nice photos of Becks with his dad and also one of Ted and his grandson Brooklyn to the gallery.

If you would like to send Becks a message of support and wish his father a speedy recovery you can post a message on his official myspace page if you have been added as a friend or if you prefer to send a note or card by mail you can write to him care of the LA Galaxy club

David Beckham
c/o The LA Galaxy
The Home Depot Center
18400 Avalon Blvd. Suite 200
Carson, CA 90746
USA

Eric Harrison Interview - Part 3

David Beckham's official website has the third part of their interview with Eric Harrison who coached Becks when he was in the Manchester United youth team, online here.

David Beckham has arrived in London. He was the first passenger off of the British Airways flight. He was met by two airline officials who had a car waiting on the tarmac to take him straight to the hospital to be with his dad. His spokesman said he had spoken to him when he landed but that he did not know whether Becks would be making any kind of statement at the hospital. He said "His priority is to see his dad and that is his first concern." More details are online here.

(Source) Simon Oliveira, Becks publicist, told the Associated Press "His father had a heart attack. David was made aware of it late last night. He caught the first available flight. He also said Ted Beckham had surgery and is in intensive care and a spokeswoman for the Barts and The London NHS Trust said "He's in a stable condition at the London Chest Hospital."

I hope the media will respect his need for some privacy and let's all keep Ted Beckham and the whole family in our thoughts and prayers.

Update - The Sun are reporting that Ted Beckham regained consciousness earlier today and was able to talk with his family. They quote a medical source as saying, "After suffering such a massive heart attack it will take some time to regain his strength. Ted is very shaken but he is fit and there is no reason why he can’t bounce back from this." I haven't seen a statement from a spokesman for Becks as yet though. Let's hope he's recovering well.

The LA Galaxy won their match against the KC Wizards 1-0 so that's a little positive news. The players dedicated the win to Becks and Coach Yallop said "The lads’ thoughts are with David and his father."

Sad news - Sky News are reporting that David Beckham's dad, Ted, has had a heart attack and that Becks is preparing to fly to the UK to be by his side. The thoughts and prayers of all fans I'm sure, are with Becks, his dad and the whole family at this difficult time. Let's wish Ted Beckham all the very best for a full recovery.

(Source) David Beckham's Spokesman told the Press Association that Ted Beckham was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, east London, on Wednesday night and then transferred to the Royal London Hospital. He also said, "His father has had a heart attack and is currently being treated in hospital. David is flying back to be with him... Victoria is in Japan working but obviously she has been informed of it and she is concerned."

Update 2 - (Source) Some positive news - David Beckham's spokesman has issued a further statement to Reuters saying, "He [Ted Beckham] is in a stable condition... He had a heart attack last night... Victoria is in Japan at the moment due to work commitments, but she has cancelled them and will take the next available flight." More details here.

David Beckham's Soccer USA 10

Episode 10 of the UK and US editions of David Beckham's Soccer USA are online. Here's highlights of Becks on the US edition including an injury update


You can watch the full US show online here and the UK show is available on Youtube - Part one - Part two - Part three

Becks up for World Best XI Player Awards

David Beckham is one of 55 players short-listed by the World-wide Players' Union for the World Best XI Player Awards. You can view the full list here. The winners will be announced Oct 5. It is an honour to be one of the 'nominated' players so congrats to Becks and let's hope he wins!

One last thing, there are headlines such as 'Becks in Match of the century' and 'Taylor lines up Beckham and Zidane for union's centenary' coming out but please be aware that these headlines are mis-leading and don't rush to buy a ticket believing David Beckham will be playing until there is confirmation that he will actually be able to make it.

Update - Thanks to Tanique33 there are photos of David Beckham out shopping to the gallery. As well as a photo of Becks leaving Hyde nightclub. He was reportedly there from 11pm to 1am Monday night with several of his LA Galaxy team-mates including Cobi Jones.

Some of the steamy photos from the Intimately Beckham photo shoot are featured in Beau Monde magazine, scans are in the gallery. There are also photos of David and Victoria Beckham heading out for dinner. Thanks to Tanique33. More details in The Sun.

Pre-game interview

Here is the pre-game interview David Beckham gave on FSN yesterday for anyone who missed it. I've re-uploaded it and it plays properly now!



Alexi Lalas has been talking to the media again. Unfortunately no one knows how to make him stop. On the plus side, he seems to be saying that the LA Galaxy are now going to proceed with the kind of professional approach to David Beckham's fitness that they should have adopted from day one, chalk that up in the better late than never column. Here's the article.

David Beckham was on hand, as the LA Galaxy defeated FC Dallas 2-1, match report. Pictures are in the gallery. Thanks to Tanique33!

Jurgen Klinsmann gave an interview to Reuters where he talked about the big boost Becks has given MLS. Thanks to Galaxy23 and Sagnad for the heads up!

David and Victoria Beckham were named the third most respected partnership in the entertainment catergory of a survey conducted by the Leaders in London International Leadership Summit 2007, which asked participants to name the most respected partnerships in five categories. Full list here.

The Australian soccer magazine FourFourTwo reports that David Beckham will be fronting a UNICEF campaign for football fans to make a difference this Christmas, more details here.

Steve Lesse, who is one of the founders of the LA Galaxy official ambassadors program, observed some of the LA Galaxy practice today and has kindly passed on the following details - "I was able to watch David Beckham training on the main pitch of the Stadium! In addition to doing some work with a ball he was doing some hard accelerations, stops and side to side work. He looked strong and I could not see any limping or favoring of either leg. He was wearing trainers, not cleats however."

Becks trained separately from the main team practice which was on University Feild 1 and Steve said, "He looked like he might make it back before the end of the regular MLS season." This is great news. It sounds like his recovery is progressing well. Thanks Steve!

David Beckham to appear on last Parkinson

The Sun reports that Michael Parkinson, will be retiring as the king of UK chat shows and his last show will be a 2 hour special featuring David Beckham, Billy Connolly and Michael Caine.

The Sun says that Becks will be based in the UK during MLS's close season when he isn't touring with the Spice Girls. They also suggest he plans to spend Christmas there and that he will train with Arsenal. (I hope this is true but of course The Sun are not completely reliable so I think we still need confirmation from a non-tabloid source)

The Parkinson interview according to The Sun will coincide with the London leg of the Spice Girls reunion tour, all the details here. Becks previous interviews with Parky have been great! So I'm really looking forward to this.

The Mirror reports that J Lo told media at the launch of her new album Brave at Amika in London, "Victoria and David are great with their kids, it's a pleasure to see." Nice to hear them being praised for being such lovely parents.


There are some old scans from the May 1998 issue of Arena in the gallery

David Beckham has recorded a video message - PSA for the Peace One Day concert that will be held tonight at the Royal Albert Hall. The clip courtesy of davidbeckham.com can be watched above. Caps are in the gallery.

David Beckham belt man?

The Sun reports that Ricky Hatton, welterweight boxer, wants David Beckham to carry his world title belt into the ring at his title bout in Las Vegas.

Becks is expected to attend Hatton's fight against legend Floyd Mayweather Jr on December 8th and is reportedly set to follow Wayne Rooney, who carried the belt in June. Thanks to Lee for the link!

A few of Becks favorite things

Here is an old list of some of Becks favorite things based on answers he has given in interviews. Can you all help me to update it with any "favorites" you've read about and then I will give the list it's own permanent page on the site!

Food and Drink: "I like a nice restaurant and will enjoy almost anything - Italian, Indian, Chinese, you name it. I still like fish and chips though. I'm not a beer drinker. A nice glass of red wine or a mineral water and I am happy with that." Becks has also mentioned Jellied eels and pie and mash as favorite foods.

Television: Sports programmes. I used to watch EastEnders but I really only watch sport on television. I like sports quiz programmes too. Perhaps I'll host one when I stop playing. Joke!

Music: "A wide variety. Definitely no country or folk music but other than that I like most things whether it is pop, house, even a bit of Pavarotti." More recently Becks has mentioned liking U2, James Brown, Snoop Dogg, Sean P. Diddy Combs. Anyone have any others?

Holidays: "The Caribbean. I like the sun and the sea and nice beaches and the Caribbean has got the lot. Clacton isn't bad though."

Football/Soccer moments: "Making my debuts for United and for England although if I have to pick one highlight I suppose it would have to be the goal against Wimbledon on the first day of the 1996-1997 season. I kept watching the video over and over." Recently Becks also said that winning La Liga meant more to him than words can say so I think that would be a favorite too.

Heroes: "Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson and Ryan Giggs. When Giggsy broke into the first team and did so well it was an inspiration to all of us. He was a hero to us even though there is not much difference in age."

Films: "Anything that has some action. Titanic wasn't bad." He has also mentioned being a big fan of The Last Samurai.

Singer: His wife, of course.

Actor and Actress: In the past Becks said Tom Cruise was his favorite actor and Julia Roberts was his favorite actress but I think Katie Holmes and Eva Longoria might be giving Julia some competition now.

Other sports: "Cricket and rugby mostly although I like boxing as well. I suppose I like most sports really. If I could not have been a footballer I think I might have enjoyed being a cricketer. You don't have to play in the rain."

Please post any info that can be added to this list in comments. Thanks for your help!

Updates from me may be a little sporadic for the next week as I am going to be working on a few things for the site other than news but the wonderful Tanique33 will be updating the gallery as always with any new pictures!

The above photo is from the David Beckham's official site and shows Becks with the children from LA's Best. Becks mentioned in his last blog post, he spent the day at his LA Academy on Saturday with a group of children from LA’s Best which is an after school enrichment program working towards improved education for students with the greatest needs and fewest resources throughout Los Angeles.

The children from Telfair Elementary and Pacoima schools, were invited to attend a soccer clinic run by the Academy coaches, followed by a question and answer session with Becks. The Academy hosted the event for Brit Week in LA.

Hi-tech Becks

Adidas announced a 100 million pound sponsorhip of the London 2012 Olympics, at a ceremony today. David Beckham made an appearance and gave a short speech but in hologram form! The £30,000 filming of Becks took place in Los Angeles but the technology developed by Musion made it look as if he was there in person before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Here's what he said, you can also watch it below -

(Source) "I know what it is like to represent my country in London, my home city, and be roared on by the crowd. There is no greater feeling. Sport is about achieving the impossible. Sport also brings the country together like nothing else and there will be 26 sports at the 2012 Games to inspire us. And over the next five years we can all get involved. Adidas is committed to help bring the Games alive in the greatest city in the world. This is just the beginning."

David Beckham's Soccer USA (US)

Episode 9 of the US edition of David Beckham's Soccer USA features David Beckham and Reggie Bush in 'futbol meets football.' Although we have seen most of it before, the show has interview snippets with Becks between the Adidas clips that are new. You can also see Becks talking about LA Galaxy losing the Super Classico for the first time at the end. The complete show is online here.

The LA Galaxy drew 2-2 against Real Salt Lake, match report here. The season seems set to end October 21 as the play-offs are almost out of reach with LA Galaxy remaining in last place, view the standings.

Thanks to Ben there is a nice pic of Becks in the LA Galaxy away kit in the gallery.

Above is a clip of David Beckham's brief appearances on Episode 9 of the UK Edition of David Beckham's Soccer USA. Watch the full show - part one - part two - part three

Becks latest blog entry

Hi,

How is everyone? Good, I hope…

I popped down to my LA Academy on Saturday to watch the children being put through their paces by the coaches. This Saturday’s group were particularly special as they were from LA’s Best, which is an after school enrichment programme that works towards better education for children with the greatest needs and fewest resources throughout the city of Los Angeles, so we were really pleased to have them at the Academy for the day.

I took part in a question and answer session and had some photos taken with the kids at the end of the day, which was really good fun. It’s always great to see children enjoying soccer whatever their ability.

I was happy to see the England team win both their recent Euro qualifiers 3-0. They were really important matches, but the team came through them strongly.

I must also say well done to the England women’s team who qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The squad, features Casey Stoney, who is one of my Academy coaches in London. At both the Academies, we have always encouraged girls as well as boys, to take part. We have had thousands of girls come through the doors and I am always impressed by, not only their ability, but their enthusiasm for the game. I am pleased women’s football is finally getting the recognition it deserves. So the best of luck to them in the quarterfinals.

David

From David Beckham's official site

Posh and Becks at the JT concert!

David Beckham, and family, enjoyed the Justin Timberlake concert the other night, in LA. Pictures are in the gallery. Thanks to Tanique33

The LA Galaxy have released a new wallpaper featuring David Beckham called "celebration". Thanks to Ben for the heads up! I've added the highest resolution to the wallpaper gallery as computers with lower resolution screens will automatically re-size it. To use it as your background, simply open the wallpaper and then right click on the image and select 'set as background'.

Eric Harrison Interview Part 2

The official David Beckham website has the second part of an interview with David Beckham's Manchester United youth team coach. You can read it online here.

David Beckham Soccer USA - Just a reminder to catch the show Wednesday. The UK edition will air on Channel five at 7.30PM and the US edition will air on Fox Soccer Channel at 8PM ET.

Also on Wednesday, The LA Galaxy are away to Real Salt Lake, match preview. The match kicks-off at 9PM ET and will be shown on HDNet.

David Beckham stopped for coffee, before the game, yesterday. Pictures are in the gallery.

(Source) As posted on the site last month, the LA Galaxy have confirmed that they will play an exhibition match in Wellington New Zealand on December 2nd, in addition to the exhibition game scheduled for November 27th in Sydney, Australia. Here's hoping that Becks and the boys will enjoy their trip down-under :)

Thanks to Tanique33 there are pictures of David and Victoria Beckham heading out for dinner at Nobu restaurant in Malibu last night in the gallery.

According to The Mirror David Beckham is going to be Ricky Hatton's tour guide. He will meet the welterweight boxer at LA airport today and act as his tour guide in LA ahead of Hatton meeting up with Mayweather for the first time at Universal Studios in Hollywood tomorrow.

Ricky Hatton said, "I was shocked when David invited me because I have a lot of respect for him and I know how busy he is. Obviously I'm a City fan, but I recognise a great sportsman when I see one and David is one of the best.

"It's going to be a big week for me and it will be tremendous to have a friendly face at the start of it all."

Becks attended the LA Galaxy match to offer his support to his team-mates. ESPN showed him in the stand wearing the team suit and tie he was sitting with Ricky Hatton who was there as his guest. All part of the 'tour'. Unfortunately, the LA Galaxy lost 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo.

Also I've added a few more early photos of Becks to the gallery.

David Beckham gave a half-time interview during LA Galaxy's game against Chivas USA which they unfortunately lost 3-0, game report. Becks handled the questions well, down-playing the non-soccer related talk about People magazines 'Best Dressed list' and steering the conversation back to England's recent successes. The man is a class act and fast on his feet!

David Beckham's Official Calendar Scans

There are some scans from Becks official calendar in the gallery. Along with a picture of The Beckham's driving from the Mastro Steakhouse last night. The whole family dined out after Victoria returned from fashion week in New York. There is also a larger version of the pic on the left of Becks with Luke Brolin 7. Becks took time out from watching his own sons playing soccer at North Ranch Playfield in Westlake Village on Saturday to say hello to some of his new neighbors and sign autographs.

There are also three more Motorola RAZR Ad versions in the gallery.

Michael Parkinson has been talking about the highlights of his career and seeing Becks in his underpants seems to be pretty close to the top of the list. Understandable. Story here.

Finally, there has been a lot of talk (when is there not) about Becks future in the England team following their recent wins. However, Terry Venables has dismissed the speculation in an interview with The Sun, saying "It seems to have been decided [by the media] that the result means the end for Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves as first-team choices. Let me tell you it does not."

David Beckham will be joining the ESPN commentary team at half-time during the broadcast of tomorrow's Super Clasico between the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA. According to ESPN, Becks "will discuss a wide range of topics as well as provide some insight on game action." The game kicks off at 11PM ET/8PM PT - more details online here. Thanks to Scilla for the heads up!

David Beckham's Soccer USA 8

David Beckham provides an update on his injury on the UK edition of David Beckham's Soccer USA (it starts 50 seconds in) here. Thanks to Kinsellagem -


You can also watch part 1 and part 2. Episode 8 of the US edition of David Beckham's soccer USA is online here.

Here's wishing him all the best with his recovery. I hope England's 3-0 win over Russia which gives their Euro 2008 chances a big shot in the arm will have cheered him up. He'll be really happy for the boys!

Congrats to Becks who was named amongst People magazine's best dressed of 2007. Of course!

For any fans in Korea, Motorola are running a contest called 'Become Beckham' featuring Becks online here. At least I think that is what the site is about, it features some slick flash but no new photos.

David Beckham has updated his blog on his official site here's what he said -

---

Hi,
Hope you’re well? I have been trying to recuperate after my knee injury, and I’ve just started working out in the gym over the past week, getting treatment, lifting weights and doing some cardio work to keep my fitness levels up. Just taking it slowly and seeing how it goes for the time being. The upside of being stuck on the sidelines is that I’ve been able to spend some extra time with my family, which has been great.

Speaking of sidelines, I watched the Galaxy play on Saturday and was really pleased to see them beat the Colorado Rapids 3-1 - the guys will definitely want to build on that win. I’m looking forward to watching the team play their next match tomorrow (Thursday). It’s another derby against Chivas USA which I’m sure is going to be a close one.

I was also delighted to see my England team mates put in a great performance against Israel. To win 3-0 and keep a clean sheet stands them in good stead for the next match against Russia, and I’ll certainly be cheering them on from home.

Before I go I’d just like to wish all the very best to the Women’s England squad, who are competing at the World Cup Finals in China. Good luck to you all, I know you’ll do your country proud.

Take care,
David

---

There are a few more 'blast from the past' photos of David Beckham in the gallery. On days where there aren't many new pictures I'll be updating the gallery with some of the older (and cuter) ones I've always meant to add.

Grant Wahl covered some of the rumors circulating about David Beckham and the LA Galaxy in his Sports Illustrated Column, you can read it here

Finally - back in March I posted a piece from The Guardian about Becks mentoring an up-and-coming golf star, Henriette Brockway, she has been having some great success, and Becks is sure to be really pleased for her.

You may contact us via email at media.discounters@gmail.com for any inquiries, including advertising opportunities.

Remember this hair-style? There are some old photos from a shoot David Beckham did for his range of Marks and Spencers boys clothes in the gallery.

Andrea Canales who writes for ESPN reports on her personal blog that David Beckham is under-taking rehab with the LA Galaxy and spends team practices working on rehabilitating his injured knee and ankle. Cobi Jones said that David Beckham comes in regularly, "He’s here today [Sept 8]. He’s been around quite a bit. Obviously, he’s frustrated with his situation, but he’s encouraging us. He’s part of this team and he wants to see us do well and be successful." Let's hope his recovery is going well.

David Beckham would much rather have been playing than spectating but at least he got to watch both of his teams win yesterday. First up Becks watched England run out 3-0 winners over Israel on TV - keeping their Euro 2008 Qualification hopes alive. Then he headed out to the Home Depot Center to cheer on his LA Galaxy team-mates as they beat the Colorado Rapids 3-1. Full story here.

David Beckham receives England legends invite

(Source) David Beckham has been invited by the PFA to play for an England Legends XI against a World Legends XI at the Manchester City stadium. The invitation is an honor but the match is scheduled for December 2nd and David Beckham is already committed to playing a friendly for the LA Galaxy in New Zealand on that date. I just wanted to remind any UK fans excited by this news of the clash. Sorry. It's a shame as it is the only date in December that the LA Galaxy have a game scheduled on and I'm sure there are a lot of fans in Manchester who would enjoy the chance to see him play again.

Rumors and Speculation Part 3

The Mirror are reporting that David Beckham might train with Arsenal for part of the Galaxy's off-season. He would not be joining the club or playing in Premier League matches he would just be usng their facilities and training with the first team. This might well be just another rumor but it is certainly more plausible than the false rumors of a possible loan arrangement, details here.

Two photos from the shoot for David and Victoria Beckham's 'Intimately Beckham' fragrance campaign are in the gallery You can read details of the 'Intimately Beckham Night' launch held at the Bel-Air Hotel a couple of weeks ago online here.

Update Episode 7 of the UK version of David Beckham's soccer USA is now online. You can watch it on You Tube part one - part two and part three. Part one has a little of David Beckham's last LA Galaxy press conference. The US version as previously posted can be viewed online here. The clip from the US edition where Becks introduces some more of the LA Galaxy team is fun.

---

There are a few screen caps from the documentary 'The Real David Beckham' in the gallery including a few, unfortunately fuzzy, pictures of 'chef Becks'. I have uploaded the documentary to You Tube here is part one and also part seven where Becks plays golf, goes to the supermarket and makes dinner for Gary Neville. You can watch all the parts in order, online here.





You can download the torrent of the documentary online it is a good quality avi (real and window media player compatible) file. It is one of the best David Beckham documentaries for anyone who hasn't already seen it.

There are so many rumours circulating at the moment and there is no substance at this time to any of them. You can't believe everything you read is as always very true when it comes to reports about Becks. Have a great weekend :)

Update - The official David Beckham website has a little interview with Eric Harrison who coached David Beckham when he played for the Manchester United youth team. There is also a nice 'blast from the past' photo. Check it out here.

(Source) David Beckham's LA Galaxy team-mate Chris Klein has been impressed by Becks professionalism he told the Deseret News, "The attention that he commands, it's been spectacular to watch, and to watch how professional he is with that and then you get him in the locker room and he really makes an effort to be one of the guys... It's really impressed me how he goes about his business — even with such a serious injury, the way he really wants to play... He didn't come here for vacation."

The David Beckham Interview 2

David Beckham's official website has the second part of an interview with Becks online here. It's a nice interview, he talks about what he does in his spare time and his sons.

He has also updated his blog and sends his best wishes to the England team ahead of their Euro 2008 qualifiers. You can read it here.

Andrea Canales has written a piece on the continued struggles of the LA Galaxy. Frank Yallop says of David Beckham's injury, "A medial is a medial. There's no complications or extra length of time or a meniscus tear. It's a straight strain. That's kind of the good news." That is good news and let's hope it's healing well! You can read the full story here.

David Beckham's Soccer USA

Oops the UK version of David Beckham Soccer USA with Tim Lovejoy will air on Channel five at 7.30PM Thursday. They changed the night. Thanks to Julie for the heads up! Episode 7 of the US version is now online. You need to register on MLSnet (it's free) to watch the show. It can be viewed by fans everywhere.

Also, I've added the full size version of the picture above and some other shots from that old photo shoot to the gallery

The Official David Beckham Calandar for 2008 has been out for a few weeks. Here's the front and the back. The images are all on a plain white background and a number of the images from David Beckham's official site, which are really nice, have been used for the calendar. Bigger versions are in the gallery. The calendar is available through amazon UK and ebay

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United Manager, has said that David Beckham can't transform US soccer alone, you can read his comments online here.

Becks and the symbolic 6.5M

A few days ago articles began to appear claiming David Beckham was paid 6.5 million for playing 310 minutes and scoring 1 goal etc. This was blatantly inaccurate and I am not a fan of sensationalism, even though it is a standard practice in today's media, so I sent an e-mail to ESPN inquiring how they had determined that figure and I received this reply -

The 6.5 million comment. It just stands as a symbol of the league's significant commitment here ... I understand that, this year, he may not literally be making $6.5 million.

The trouble is that I think the symbolic nature of the figures er just may not have been fully understood. What with all those very literal looking, to the dollar, breakdowns based on games, starts etc. You think?



I have seen these figures from ESPN quoted far and wide and no one is suggesting that they are symbolic. I appreciate that they responded and I appreciate that they as good as admitted they have inflamed an already unfortunate situation by using journalistic license. However, as injury doesn't discrimate by pay-check and as all professional players in the world remain under contract during injury spells it seems a wholly pointless story line.

The story that is going mostly untold is that David Beckham has made a huge committment to MLS. A committment that can be valued in dollar terms as substantially greater than 6.5 million and so far the short-sighted opportunists running the league have shown little or no regard for building soccer, they have no meaningful strategy for retention of initial fan interest that can be readily identified. Their sole focus seems to be making a quick buck? There is a good story on this here.

Hopefully, I will have something more interesting than my running battles with the media to post on later :)

Here's David Beckham's CNN interview in full. It was released in three parts over a 10 day period. Becks was interviewed by Mark McKay during the youth soccer clinic in Harlem. The separate parts have already been posted on this site but Becks said it was one of his best days in the US so here's a re-run of the whole segment. The footage of him playing soccer with the kids is very cute!

MSNBC have an interesting piece on LA Galaxy fan reaction to David Beckham's injury that shows the majority of fans are understanding and supportive of Becks, online here.

The results for the 2007 Golden Foot have been announced, Alexandro Del Piero won with Roberto Carlos in second place and David Beckham in third. The ten nominees for the award are all great footballers and although I think Becks deserved to win, finishing in third is still a good achievement, more details here.

Here's the full Interview with David Beckham in the Observer Sports Monthly that The Guardian previewed two days ago. Read it here.

Steve Davis at ESPN has written an interesting article on the perils of the MLS 'Beckham-centric' marketing approach, story here. Make sure you ignore the inaccurate sidebars. I'm sure you all realise that David Beckham isn't going to be paid an annual salary for a 3 and a half month period.

LA Galaxy 1 - 2 Real Salt Lake

The game had been billed as 'the battle for the bottom of the table'. Sadly, the LA Galaxy lost meaning that they remain in last place on the league table by 4 points, although they have 2 games in hand as compared to the team in 12th. On the plus side MLS does not have relegation. You can read the game report online here.

David Beckham was on hand to support his team along with his sons, Brooklyn and birthday boy Romeo. The scoreboard displayed a birthday message for Romeo in lights, which was nice. Earlier in the day the family headed out to the Beverley Hills Cheesecake factory to celebrate Romeo's Birthday photos are in the gallery

For those fans who were asking, the Copa Minnesota game between LA Glaxy and the Minnesota Thunder is being rescheduled, details here.

P.S The Sunday tabloids contain the usual weekly gossip and unfounded rumors. Read with caution.

Update - Photos of Birthday boy Romeo, Brooklyn and Daddy Beckham watching the LA Galaxy sadly lose 2-1 to Real Salt Lake tonight are in the gallery.

Romeo Beckham is 5 years old today. Here's hoping he has a lovely birthday and a wonderful 6th year, filled with health and happiness. David Beckham said in a recent interview that Romeo had asked for a wireless microphone for his birthday, so let's hope he is having fun entertaining the whole family :) There are some cute older photos of Romeo in the family gallery. There are also some new photos of Becks at the beach yesterday with Romeo and Brooklyn, as well as going to the medical center, he reportedly spent three hours there, and a few more photos of him shopping for sunglasses too in the gallery

David Beckham's Soccer USA

Here's Episode 6 of the UK version of David Beckham's USA with Tim Lovejoy. Thanks to Kinsellagem.



Part two - Part three - Part four If you are short on time there is an interview with Becks in part three.

Also for anyone who missed it, here is the link to David Beckham's radio interview with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS that was posted yesterday.

Quotes from the mismanagement

The Sun reports Steve McClaren, England Manager, as saying, "As you’d expect, David is devastated. His absence is another big blow for us... We have got five massive qualifying games coming up and we need all the big players who can handle that situation... David was one of them and, unfortunately, we’re now going to be without him.

His performances at the end of last season against Brazil and Estonia warranted him staying in the squad and getting another opportunity to prove himself... Going to America and playing for England was always going to be a difficult schedule for him but it was something he felt he could handle... But we’re not going to be able to judge the evidence of that because he’s injured and that’s not necessarily because of all the travelling he has to do.

He was unlucky to get a knock playing for us against Estonia and he never recovered sufficiently to play enough games to get his fitness back... I’ve talked to David and after these two games we’ll assess his situation week by week, see how quickly he recovers and then decide if he’s going to be available for the games in October."

(AP) Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said, "We got to make sure he's doing the right thing from day one... Then his rehab will start and away he goes on both knee and ankle."

Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas insisted, "Regardless of what we did with David, we were going to be second-guessed. We did what we felt was right for the organization, we did what we felt was right for the player... Some of it worked out and some of it didn't. These are just moments that you go through. We'll get through this and he will, too."