Oops, I did it again
Actually, I did have a legit reason for being late in posting this. I had a horrendous migraine all yesterday evening and night, and I tried to sit down to write and it just wasn't happening! I went to bed and writhed around in agony and distracted myself with thoughts about what I'd write in the morning. ;)

So lucky you, you'll get two posts today! I appreciate all your compliments and you putting up with my verbosity!

#1, Tuesday & Wednesday goings on...


Lalas to the Rescue
Take a deep breath and dive into this one, as I recap a lengthy bit o'television: On Tuesday night Alexi Lalas made an impromptu call in to Fox Football Fone In on FSC. The hosts of that show are not anti-Beckham (they think Becks is a football legend), but they are very upset by what has happened in America since he arrived, and they'd like to ask David questions about everything that's transpired this year, in general. Sometimes in the world of footy you get stick and you give stick, and David is no stranger to that.

They were doing a poll question (polling fans who call in) about whether or not David's reputation has been tarnished irreparably in America. Believe it or not, most people said yes. But there were some who called up and said no, and those people pointed out that negative events, such as the recent “spurning” of TJ Simmers (no friend to soccer!) and his barely-worth-reading LA Times article on Monday, have a lot to do with forces outside David's control. (Simmers accused Becks of being too into the celebrity aspect of the USA to be into the soccer aspect of the USA.)

To my surprise, Alexi Lalas was the second person to call into the show (he watches/listens as well) and gave a lengthy Q&A with both the hosts and the fans, answering questions to the best of his ability about why David behaves the way he does. For example, why he does interviews with Barbara Walters instead of sports writers. Alexi admitted that if David is presented with the choice of an interview on 60 Minutes or an interview on Fox Football Fone In, he personally will always advise David to choose 60 Minutes, because it's bigger exposure. So draw your own conclusions: is it David's fault that he is interviewed less by sports programs and more by celebrity programs?

Alexi admitted some culpability. He also defended David ferociously. He was in full Alexi-the-Charmer mode. He was intelligent, witty, well-informed, and very polite to the fans who called in to heap anti-Beckham abuse on him. I personally have a lot of issues with Lalas, but I was impressed by him on Tuesday. So good on you, Alexi, for taking the time to answer the fans' questions about what David's done since arriving in America.

Furthermore, when the Fox Football Fone In blokes asked him why David hasn't yet accepted their invitation to call in and talk to them, there was a rather amusing lengthy pause after which Alexi dropped his suave act and said, “....I dunno.” It gave everyone a bit of a laugh, but served as a reminder that Alexi has his lips to David's ears a great deal, yet everyone still has to contend with David's handlers and the will of MLS. David doesn't seem to be able to do anything without consulting about twenty-five people these days, so it's a wonder he gets anything done.

Alexi did make a firm promise that he would do his best to get David to call in sometime soon. I won't know in advance when this happens, so if it does, I will post immediately on the blog so that those of you who check in often can tune in at that time. The FFF guys have promised they won't trap him into a nasty interview—just ask the basic questions, and then go all goo-goo about actually talking to THE David Beckham! Don't trust Lalas, but feel free to admire him for what he did on FFF on Tuesday. He took it on the chin time and again from fan phone calls, and behaved a total gentleman on Becks's behalf. Stay tuned for more news...

And stay away from that TJ Simmers piece, unless you're into negativity. He's raking muck because he's a bit bitter, a bit anti-soccer, and he can't even get through one page without plagiarizing criticism from all the other anti-Becks pundits. He raises a few fair points, like why Beckham's handlers said he'd be “too tired” to do an interview when Becks was at a pre-Grammy party until 1.30am, but Becks is allowed to have a social life. That issue is none of TJ's business. David's handlers (including Galaxy) obviously called the shot on this one. We all know that if David had the chance to do every interview under the sun he would, to raise the profile of MLS and his credibility within in. He's eager to prove his point to everyone.


Becks Blogs Again
David posted another blog on Wednesday. Here it is:

Hi,

I’ve been very busy this week training with the Galaxy for our new season. Although it is several weeks away, we have been working extremely hard twice a day with Ruud and the coaching staff to ensure we are fit when we play our first game against Colorado Rapids at the end of March. For me, this is going to be my first full season with the Galaxy and I am really looking forward to it. We have improved our squad of players this winter so we will also be looking to improve on last season. Next Monday we leave for Hawaii and the Pan Pacific tournament which everybody is looking forward to. The opening game is against Japanese side, Gamba Osaka, so will definitely be looking to try and build up our match fitness from thereon.

Best wishes,

David


Galaxy to Sail Whitecaps Sea on May 13th
Thanks to Franco and a Galaxy press release for alerting me to the fact that the Whitecaps game I reported on the other day is now set in stone. The Galaxy will travel to Edmonton for an exhibition match against the Whitecaps on May 13^th at 7pm. It's too early for me to know if it will be available on telly or online, but we'll keep you posted.


Long Live D Beck
Thanks to Franco for the head's up. Becks now has another nickname, courtesy of his wife and Snoop Dogg.

Days after quitting the Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham seems to have found a new way to relax and rechristened her husband David Beckham's name to D Beck. The new name was given by rapper Snoop Dogg as he thought the name David sounded really dull. His other nickname Becks did not sound too interesting either, so Dogg came out with D Beck. Victoria seemed to be very impressed with the name and started calling him by this name too.

...well, I think he's pretty well covered in the name department. David, Beckham, Becks, Goldenballs, that-bloke-who-can-bend-it-and-no-that-isn't-a-naughty-term...he's accumulating tattoos, so he might as well accumulate nicknames while he's at it!

Read more here.


Daddy Duties: To the Doctors We Go
Gossip Girl has the nickname story, but also a photograph of him taking Romeo and Brooklyn to a medical centre yesterday—we can hope only for a check-up, for any of them! More pics of same coming to the gallery soon.


The Galaxy Remain Hard at Work
More Becks training pictures have emerged, dated 13^th February. So I'm guessing they're new...I've queued them up for the Powers That Be at our Almighty Gallery! Here's a preview.

Posted by Dina Ely, soccer editorial/commentary writer. Blog: Eleven Men