Galaxy 1 Red Bull 2
Unfortunately the Galaxy lost last night in what was a fairly lacklustre performance all around. David's first game against the Red Bull last year, in a packed Giants Stadium, was a far more exciting affair--let's hope the game at Giants Stadium in July will rekindle some of that rivalry spirit and give us as good a match!

You can read a full match report/post-game write-up here. As they say, you win some and you lose some.

For those who haven't seen an opening ceremony to a Galaxy match at the Home Depot Center, here's a home video of Saturday's ceremony:



Auckland Looking Likely
It's looking more and more likely that the Galaxy will have another post-season visit to Australasia. More details are emerging about the negotiations to play in Auckland, NZ:

David Beckham's LA Galaxy team is in the final stages of negotiating a contract to travel to Auckland for a game against an Oceania XI.

Oceania Football Confederation general secretary Tai Nicholas said the contract was yet to be signed but negotiations were coming to a conclusion.

You can read more about this ongoing story here.


Living Up to the "Hype"
There is an opinion piece about David "finally living up to the hype" (I think most of us would argue he lived up to it back when he earned it at Manchester United...), ahead of the Galaxy friendly in Edmonton on Tuesday. Regarding David's contributions in the match vs. Real Salt Lake:

"His attitude in those two moments made the difference," said teammate Landon Donovan, who played in two World Cups for the United States. "He said, ‘I'm going to make a difference because we're struggling right now.' Then he went and did it.

"Other people can try it but can't pull it off. He can."

More comments, quotes, and opinion here.


England Squad
Congratulations to Becks, who was named to the provisional squad for the upcoming England friendlies against USA (May 28) and Trinidad (June 1).

David Beckham was named in England's squad for friendly games against the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

England coach Fabio Capello picked the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Sunday for his squad of 31 to face the Americans at Wembley on May 28 and at Trinidad on June 1.

More here.


BritWeek Celebrity Match
(hellomagazine.com) - A number of stars from the world of sport, film, TV and music joined the England player for a special "Showbiz" game in Los Angeles as part of BritWeek 2008. In its second year, the event – founded by American Idol's Nigel Lythgoe - promotes British culture across the pond.

Among those joining in the sporting fun were musician Ziggy Marley, former EastEnders star Sean MacGuire and Strictly Come Dancing judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

There were even famous faces in the audience. Watching on with David's three boys, Brooklyn, nine, Romeo, five, and three-year-old Cruz, were his good pals Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and their children.

Saving his energy for his own game later that night, David himself was giving the honour of tossing the coin at the beginning of the celeb match. But fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Becks in action weren't disappointed. Fans at the celebrity game also got to see LA Galaxy play later that night. Source

LA Galaxy vs. Red Bull
Tonight the Galaxy play the NY Red Bull at the Home Depot Center. Kickoff is 10.30pm ET. Match preview and stats can be found here. Watch a preview video here.

TV options: The match will be broadcast on TV on FSN-W and HDNet.

Online options: Free p2p options are posted here. Check closer to match time for availability, some links are already showing. Find the software you will need (looks like it'll be Sopcast) here.

Radio options: In Los Angeles area, AM 1150 (English, listen online here) & 1330 AM (Esp).

Text commentary: ESPN Gamecast or commentary.

Have fun watching. Good luck to the Galaxy!

Becks Blogs
Ahead of the game vs. Red Bull tomorrow (we'll post details for viewing/listening/reading closer to game time) David blogs:

Hi everyone,

To top a great birthday on Friday, we managed to get a good draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, which was very pleasing, because we didn’t have the best of starts against them. We didn’t play well for the first 20 minutes and it took a few tackles before we livened up and got ourselves back in the game.
I’m delighted to have scored again. My game is mostly about making goals for others, but obviously if a chance does come along I’ll happily take it, so I’m pleased I could contribute with a couple of goals and help us draw the game away from home.
We have Red Bull New York next and we’re at home again, so we’ll be looking for another good performance to keep us up near the top of the league.

Speak to you all soon
Take care,

David


The Beckhams & Clooney (don't read if you're bothered by anything gossip-ish)
A nice bit of gossip for a change--the Beckhams have made a new friend in Hollywood, George Clooney.

The couple were joined by George Clooney, to fly 2,800 miles from LA to New York ahead of the star-studded Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala on Monday night.

Victoria and David Beckham are said to have had a lot of fun on the flight as they sipped on Cristal champagne during the flight.

"George was only recently introduced to the Beckhams but they hit it off straight away," says a source. "He totally digs Victoria's dry, very British sense of humour and gets her jokes, which a lot of Americans don't."

"They went out for dinner the evening before their flight but the trio really bonded on the plane, swapping gossip and doing hilarious impressions," the source tells the Daily Mirror. Source. (Check out a lovely photo on the source page.)


Shooting for Sharpie
Becks is now shooting his new ad campaign for Sharpie. The marker commercials with David not shown in them were fillers until they could get this campaign out; they are slated to begin playing in July. Check out some cute pictures here!


DB and GO3
This isn't news to us as we reported the sponsorship/commercial relationship between David and GO3 some time ago. But there are some new details regarding imaging and packaging that we didn't know, so for those interested, here they are:

David Beckham has been signed as the face of a range of family focused health supplements and foods, GO3, launching in the US this week. The brand has been created by branding agency Smith & Milton and is expected to launch in the UK "soon".

The agency has created a logo and packaging for the Omega-3 fish oil supplements and used Beckham's image in the packaging. It will gradually be adding further products to the range.

Source

So any UK-resident fans, keep an eye out. You never know when a Beckham-related wrapper or box can become a collector's item!

Goal of the Week
David's goals from this weekend's match are both up for the MLS Goal of the Week. You can help by voting for him for either goal here, on the left side. You can also watch clips of his goals there!


Update on Iran
The back and forth re: negotiations for a supposed Iran match continues. Now ESPN is reporting the Galaxy are indeed negotiating for a friendly match against the Iranian national team:

Galaxy assistant general manager Tom Payne has been working on the arrangements. While they have not been finalized, Payne acknowledged that the two organizations have entered the "preliminary stages."

One important step was securing the assistance of the United States Soccer Federation, which must approve and formally invite any visiting team from another country. The Galaxy has the full cooperation of USSF president Sunil Gulati.

Read more, including a breakdown of all the connections between the Galaxy and Iran, here.


Beckhams on Oprah
Becks and Posh talked with Oprah during a special about Tom Cruise, and among other things here's a story Victoria shared about Tom's significance to her & David:

"One of our first dates, we went to the movies to see Jerry Maguire, and I wore glasses. It was first time David kissed me, and he completely steamed up my glasses. When we got to know Tom, we told him the story of how it was one of our first dates, and he sent us the jacket that he wore in one of the scenes, and he signed it. And David hasn't taken the jacket off since. I make him wear it."

View them here:



Armani Event
Anyone interested in the social side of things might enjoy this round-up from the Armani Costume Institute Gala David & Victoria attended yesterday. We'll get pics up in the gallery shortly!

The Galaxy drew with RSL last night, 2-2. Considering that they started out really poorly, it could have been much worse. David took it upon himself to score both of the goals that tied the game, within the space of 4 minutes!

In a post-match interview with FSN-W on the pitch, Becks said:

"It was a good game in the end. I think that we started off terrible the first 20 minutes. We didn't get close enough to them as a team. We looked scared of them. And then a couple of tackles started going in, and we livened up. We got ourselves back into the game."

Here is a video of the highlights including David's goals:



A game review can be found here.

It was a pretty exciting game. David took a bold 50/50 and fell hard, appearing injured and limping, giving us all a bit of a heart attack! He ended up back on the pitch without receiving further treatment, and played the rest of the 90. He may be sore tomorrow, but at least it looks like nothing's wrong.


Becks & Posh to Be Armani's Guests
David and Victoria will be Giorgio Armani's guests at the Armani Institute Costume Gala on Monday. You can read more about the event here.


Autographs...
New "Sharpie" ads are coming in July, featuring David signing a number of things for fans with a Sharpie pen. The current campaign, the autographed golf ball, will presumably be replaced by the more realistic ads. Discovered here. As that source points out, David said of Sharpie some time ago:

"I have always enjoyed signing autographs for people, especially since I used to love getting my heroes' signatures when I was younger."


Win It for Scholes
When Manchester United meet Chelsea at the Champions League final later in the month, Paul Scholes will be looking to do what he could not do in '99: participate in a side that wins the Champions League. Scholes was suspended for the opportunity in 1999. Sir Alex has promised him a place in the starting 11 in the final this month.

David spoke up:

Beckham said: “I hope they go all the way just for Paul Scholes because he missed out on the first Champions League final we won in 1999.”

[...] Beckham also revealed the heartache Scholes suffered after having to sit and watch the final last time around.

“I remember how upset he was when he missed out last time and it would be nice to think he could lay that one to rest finally,” he added.

The LA Galaxy man also went on to say how he much he wants to his former team to take Europe’s top prize and how it would be a fitting tribute to Scholes who has been one of Old Trafford’s most faithful servants.

“It would be fitting given what he has achieved and the years of service he has given to United,” concluded the former England skipper.

LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
Tonight the Galaxy play RSL in Utah. Kickoff is 9pm ET. Match preview and stats can be found here.

TV options: The match will be broadcast on TV on FSN-W and MLS Direct Kick (expansion package for TV).

Online options: If you have the MLSlive.tv internet package, you can watch this match online on the MLS site. You can find out more about buying the package, which is $19.95 for the season, here. Before you order check if you'll be able to use it in your country, though fans have told me it's available outside the US, I'm not sure if that means all countries. You can call 877-557-3774 or e-mail customerservice@website.mlsnet.com for more info.

Free p2p options are posted here. Check closer to match time for availability.
Find the software you will need (probably Sopcast) here.

Radio options: In Los Angeles area, AM 1150 (English, listen online here) & 1330 AM (Esp).

Text commentary: ESPN Gamecast or commentary.

Have fun watching. Good luck to the Galaxy!

Happy Birthday David
Loredana found this link with photos and information about David's quiet birthday dinner with his family at Ivy on the Shore. The celebration was moved up a day because tomorrow the Galaxy are in Utah to play Real Salt Lake.


David blogged briefly today:
c/o DavidBeckham.com
Hi,

I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone for your kind birthday messages on my MySpace page. It really is amazing to receive so many and I really appreciate it, so thank you once again.

Take care,

David


Another Down-Under Tour
Yesterday we reported that the tentative Brisbane match had been denied after claims that it was in negotiations. Today another piece was published fitting together more of another end-of-year tour of Australasia:

The Galaxy are in discussions with the Oceania confederation about organising a match against an Oceania All Stars XI at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland during their off-season later this year.

The Galaxy have been linked to a match against A-League club Queensland Roar in Brisbane and Oceania is keen to get in on the action, as the Phoenix did last December when the Galaxy stopped off in the capital after playing Sydney FC in front of 80,000 people in Sydney.

Whether or not this match will materialize remains to be seen. Find out more here.


Real Salt Lake Preview
Speaking of tomorrow's match, here's a game preview in the Seattle Post-Intelligence. We'll post more about the game tomorrow, along with viewing options!

Today is his birthday. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!

Hello all,

Finally have the ability to add photos to the gallery again! And I've been super busy gathering & adding all the pictures that I missed for the past couple weeks. Enjoy!

Out and about:
Winery Tour -Monday April 28th 2008
Watching Lakers & Out To Dinner after- April-20-2008
Celebrating Victoria's Bday at Pink Taco with the kids
Out with victoria early bday celebration
Watching Lakers April-15-2008
Coffee To-Go Stop
Watching Lakers April-12-2008
Watching Lakers April 11th 2008

Matches:
Practice-April 25th and Match on 26th- Chivas
Match April 19th - Houston
April 13th 2008 - Toronto

Labels: david beckham pictures

In some parts of the world it's David's birthday, but as it hasn't turned midnight here yet it's still a day early--happy early birthday and we'll fill you all in on anything we hear of his celebrations for today/tomorrow!


Latest Blog
David's latest blog c/o DavidBeckham.com:

Hi everybody,

Well, as you’ll probably know, we beat our local rivals Chivas USA in the SuperClasico on Saturday night and what a great advert for the MLS it was. It was a brilliant game to be involved in, one of the best since I’ve played in for the Galaxy and we could have scored even more goals with the chances we had. Although it’s still early in the season, we’re only one point off the top of the Western Conference, which is a great feeling and hopefully we can keep the momentum going. I’m also really delighted for Landon Donovan. He’s playing at the top of his game at the moment, so it’s no surprise that he’s the league’s top scorer.
It’s also good to see the younger players coming through, like Sean Franklin. He joined us during the SuperDraft and is already starting games and playing very well, which is great for the future of the club.
Next up we play Real Salt Lake in Utah, where I visited once before when I played for Real Madrid. I’m really looking forward to going back there to play my first MLS match.
Last week, I filmed an appearance on the children’s show Sesame Street. I can remember watching the programme when I was young, so I was delighted to be asked on to appear as a guest.
That’s all for now.

Take care,

David


Becks & Friends Visit Winery
Unfortunately the ability to add new pics to the gallery is still broken but I found some pictures of a winery tour David, Victoria & friends went on as one of his birthday gifts to Victoria. Their guests included Heidi Klum and Seal, Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. You can see them here.


Rich List '07/08

From this source:
David and Victoria Beckham were placed at number 616 with £125 million on the annual Sunday Times Rich List. They have gone up since last year.

They're also on some of the various other lists, including the Richest Husband and Wives list at 27 and The Top 50 Music Millionaires at number 20.

David and Victoria Beckham were placed at 29 in the Giving List. They donated or pledged £4 million of their £125 million fortune over the past year - children, educational and sports organisations were the largest beneficiaries.


Brisbane Match Uncertain
There's been yet another claim of an international friendly for Galaxy, and yet more denial. This time the supposed match is in Brisbane, Australia in November. But the club, Queensland Roar, is denying reports that the match has been arranged. Perhaps it is gummed up in negotiations or completely false, but only time will tell. For now, bear in mind there are multiple versions of the tale when you see it posted online!


David to Celebrate with P Diddy
According to the Mirror David will play a role in helping P Diddy celebrate receiving a star on the walk of fame:

Never shy of flashing his cash, rapper P Diddy is set to throw a £2 millon celebrity-packed party on Friday to celebrate getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

And party pal David Beckham has been roped in to help organise it.

David will pre-record a message for his pal, saying "Well done mate, you earned it - Enjoy!"? reports the Mirror. (Source)


Sports Greats Unite
An anonymous commentor has shared this video of Becks and Gretzky talking about meeting at the Chivas match, and sharing thoughts on one another: