The LA Galaxy have announced their 2008 preseason training plans, which will officially begin on Monday, February 4, leading up to the start of the 2008 MLS season. New Galaxy Head Coach Ruud Gullit has five matches scheduled in February and March, highlighted by the Pan-Pacific Championship and Asia Tour 2008 presented by Herbalife, as the club prepares for the 13th season of Major League Soccer.
LA Galaxy Preseason Match Schedule (All times Pacific)
Date Opponent Time (local)/Location
Wed., Feb. 20 Gamba Osaka (J-League) 6:00 p.m., Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Sat., Feb. 23 Third Place/Final 6:00 / 8:30 p.m., Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Sat., March 1 FC Seoul TBD, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, Korea
Wed, March 5 China All-Star Union 7:30 p.m., Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China
Sat., March 15 FC Dallas 7:30 p.m., Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Ruiz to Remain in LA in Preparation for Preseason Training
Recently acquired LA Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz will remain in Los Angeles to prepare for the club’s preseason training and to continue to rehabilitate his right knee which underwent successful arthroscopic surgery in November to clean up his lateral meniscus. Therefore Ruiz, who was acquired by the Galaxy on January 15, was not part of Guatemalan National Team head coach Hernán Darío Gómez’s 35-man roster which reported for training camp on Monday in Guatemala.
Ruiz initially began to feel discomfort in his right knee in September while with his former team, FC Dallas, following a U.S. Open Cup Semifinal win in Seattle. An MRI after that game revealed loose fragments in his knee, but no extensive damage. The 28-year old missed one game as a result of the injury but did not miss any more time for the rest of the regular season and postseason as a result of it.
Ruiz initially began to feel discomfort in his right knee in September while with his former team, FC Dallas, following a U.S. Open Cup Semifinal win in Seattle. An MRI after that game revealed loose fragments in his knee, but no extensive damage. The 28-year old missed one game as a result of the injury but did not miss any more time for the rest of the regular season and postseason as a result of it.
LA Galaxy Announce Asia Tour 2008 presented by Herbalife
The LA Galaxy have unveiled the schedule for their Asia Tour 2008 presented by Herbalife with matches to be played in Korea and China. The Galaxy will play FC Seoul of the K-League on Saturday, March 1 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Korea. Next, the club will face off against China All-Star Union on Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 pm at Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China. For complete details go to lagalaxy.com.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Ruiz Re-Introduced to LA Media
Despite delays and a canceled flight, forward Carlos Ruiz was officially re-introduced to the Los Angeles media at The Home Depot Center. About 35 members of the media welcomed Ruiz back to Los Angeles with plenty of questions about his return and his many new teammates. Only one active player remains on the Galaxy roster from his last stint with the club from 2002-2005. Can you name that player?
...Midfielder Peter Vagenas. Meanwhile, two former teammates stayed on with the team in Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones. Ruiz is especially looking forward to working with Jones in his new role.
LA Tab Four in Supplemental Draft
The LA Galaxy made four selections in this afternoon’s 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft, selecting a pair of defenders, as well as a goalkeeper and a midfielder in the four round draft.
FIRST ROUND:
Defender Michael Gavin (4th overall) from Portland.
SECOND ROUND:
Goalkeepr Charles Alamo (16th overall) from the University of California – Riverside.
THIRD ROUND:
Defender Greg Folk (32nd overall) from UCLA.
FOURTH ROUND:
Midfielder Daniel De Geer (46th overall) from the University of San Francisco.
These four selections, as well as the six players drafted by the Galaxy in last week’s MLS SuperDraft are scheduled to arrive at The Home Depot Center early next month when the club begins preseason training for the 2008 campaign. Go to lagalaxy.com for the complete news release.
FIRST ROUND:
Defender Michael Gavin (4th overall) from Portland.
SECOND ROUND:
Goalkeepr Charles Alamo (16th overall) from the University of California – Riverside.
THIRD ROUND:
Defender Greg Folk (32nd overall) from UCLA.
FOURTH ROUND:
Midfielder Daniel De Geer (46th overall) from the University of San Francisco.
These four selections, as well as the six players drafted by the Galaxy in last week’s MLS SuperDraft are scheduled to arrive at The Home Depot Center early next month when the club begins preseason training for the 2008 campaign. Go to lagalaxy.com for the complete news release.
Three to Remain in USA Camps
Cronin and Donovan to Train With U.S. Ahead of Match Against Mexico; Mike Randolph Remains With U.S. Under-23’s
Three Galaxy players who have spent a majority of 2008 training with the U.S. National Teams will remain in their respective camps until early next month. Goalkeeper Steve Cronin and forward Landon Donovan will train with the U.S. National Team ahead of their game against Mexico in Houston on February 6. Meanwhile defender Mike Randolph will take part in another camp with the U.S. Under-23 National Team ahead of CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which will be held in the United States in March. For complete details go to lagalaxy.com
Monday, January 21, 2008
Ante On The Air
Ante Jazic may have undergone ankle surgery, but he can talk just fine and he'll do just that Tuesday morning from 9-11 a.m. when he co-hosts a show with Gary Richards on the Champions Soccer Radio Network. Ante will be on for the entire two hour window, meaning that he'll be able to touch on all sorts of topics in and around The Beautiful Game.
Follow this link to listen live and get some insight into the life of a professional player during the offseason.
Follow this link to listen live and get some insight into the life of a professional player during the offseason.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Two More Heading West
In the third round the Galaxy grabbed Julian Valentin, a defender from Wake Forest and Matt Allen, a goalkeeper from Creighton University.
We'll have comments from each, as well as any other picks the Galaxy make in the fourth round, after the draft.
At that time, Paul and Alexi will be addressing the media so we'll have some from them as well.
We'll have comments from each, as well as any other picks the Galaxy make in the fourth round, after the draft.
At that time, Paul and Alexi will be addressing the media so we'll have some from them as well.
Ely Allen Heading to LA
The Galaxy just grabbed another University of Washington Husky with the 21st pick, taking Ely Allen. He scored 26 goals in four years at UW where he was a teammate of Ty Harden.
He just popped up on stage and we'll have words from him soon as well.
He just popped up on stage and we'll have words from him soon as well.
Round One is Done
Round One of the MLS SuperDraft is in the books here from Baltimore with the Galaxy selecting Cal State Northridge defender Sean Franklin. The club also traded defender Chris Albright to New England in exchange for allocation money.
We'll have more to come later on including some words from Mr. Franklin himself.
We'll have more to come later on including some words from Mr. Franklin himself.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Baltimore Blast
We've been in Baltimore the last couple of days and the snow has finally stopped, turning to a lovely frozen rain making all of us miss Southern California that much more.
The first Galaxy staff got into town on Tuesday night with Alexi coming in on Wednesday night and the triumvirate of Paul, Trevor and Cobi got in on Thursday afternoon, coming up straight from Fort Lauderdale.
One person who will not be in attendance tomorrow afternoon is Ruud, who flew back to LA on Tuesday and then was off to Holland on Wednesday to finalize some personal affairs that will get him back to the States in plenty of time for the start of preseason.
In case anyone forgot, the Galaxy have seven picks are spread over all four rounds, with one in the first round, two in the second round, two in the third round and two in the fourth.
Those picks are...
#4 - Galaxy's Natural First Round Selection
# 21 - Second Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the John Wolyniec trade on August 16, 2006
# 28 - Second Round Pick acquired from the Houston Dynamo as part of the Kelly Gray-Nate Jaqua trade on July 3, 2007
# 29 - Third Round Pick acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes as compensation for the Galaxy's release of head coach Frank Yallop
# 34 - Third Round Pick acquired from the Columbus Crew as part of the Stefani Miglioranzi trade on January 18, 2007
# 46 - Galaxy's Natural Fourth Round Selection
# 51 - Fourth Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the Santino Quaranta trade on June 25, 2007
The Galaxy had three other picks in the SuperDraft that were traded away by the club, with the Revolution claiming the Galaxy's natural second round pick (#18) through a Draft day trade in 2007, the Wizards received a second round pick from the Galaxy (#25) in the trade for Shavar Thomas last March. Incidentally, the Galaxy had originally acquired this pick from the Wizards in the trade for Kevin Hartman last year. Lastly, the Galaxy's natural third round selection (#32) was sent to the Red Bulls as part of the 2006 trade of John Wolyniec.
We stopped by the Convention Center today to take a look at the floor and the Galaxy group should get plenty of air time tomorrow on ESPN2 and MLSnet.com as we have one of the tables closest to the podium, stage left.
We'll have more from the draft and some pre-draft tidbits tomorrow morning so check back as we prepare to welcome seven new players into our Galaxy family.
The first Galaxy staff got into town on Tuesday night with Alexi coming in on Wednesday night and the triumvirate of Paul, Trevor and Cobi got in on Thursday afternoon, coming up straight from Fort Lauderdale.
One person who will not be in attendance tomorrow afternoon is Ruud, who flew back to LA on Tuesday and then was off to Holland on Wednesday to finalize some personal affairs that will get him back to the States in plenty of time for the start of preseason.
In case anyone forgot, the Galaxy have seven picks are spread over all four rounds, with one in the first round, two in the second round, two in the third round and two in the fourth.
Those picks are...
#4 - Galaxy's Natural First Round Selection
# 21 - Second Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the John Wolyniec trade on August 16, 2006
# 28 - Second Round Pick acquired from the Houston Dynamo as part of the Kelly Gray-Nate Jaqua trade on July 3, 2007
# 29 - Third Round Pick acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes as compensation for the Galaxy's release of head coach Frank Yallop
# 34 - Third Round Pick acquired from the Columbus Crew as part of the Stefani Miglioranzi trade on January 18, 2007
# 46 - Galaxy's Natural Fourth Round Selection
# 51 - Fourth Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the Santino Quaranta trade on June 25, 2007
The Galaxy had three other picks in the SuperDraft that were traded away by the club, with the Revolution claiming the Galaxy's natural second round pick (#18) through a Draft day trade in 2007, the Wizards received a second round pick from the Galaxy (#25) in the trade for Shavar Thomas last March. Incidentally, the Galaxy had originally acquired this pick from the Wizards in the trade for Kevin Hartman last year. Lastly, the Galaxy's natural third round selection (#32) was sent to the Red Bulls as part of the 2006 trade of John Wolyniec.
We stopped by the Convention Center today to take a look at the floor and the Galaxy group should get plenty of air time tomorrow on ESPN2 and MLSnet.com as we have one of the tables closest to the podium, stage left.
We'll have more from the draft and some pre-draft tidbits tomorrow morning so check back as we prepare to welcome seven new players into our Galaxy family.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Ruud Reels in a Fish
Carlos Ruiz is once again a member of the Galaxy. The club pulled off the deal this morning, sending allocation money and a second round pick next year to re-acquire Fish, who scored 50 goasl in his first stint in LA.
Here is the text of the full press release or head to lagalaxy.com to check out this story and more...
CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, January 15, 2008) – The LA Galaxy today acquired forward Carlos Ruiz from FC Dallas in exchange for allocation money and a second round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Ruiz, who began his MLS career with the Galaxy, helped lead the club to their first-ever MLS Cup title in 2002. He is the eighth leading scorer in MLS history with 81 career goals in 140 regular season games and has scored more than 100 goals in all competitions since arriving in MLS in February 2002.
“We are very pleased to be bringing a proven goal scorer and veteran leader in Carlos Ruiz back to Los Angeles,” said LA Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo. “Carlos is an experienced forward who has averaged better than a goal every two games during his MLS career and we believe that he will be a tremendous asset to our attack.”
Ruiz, who is commonly referred to by his nickname “Pescado” or “Fish”, has played six years in MLS, scoring 81 goals in 140 games while adding an MLS record 16 postseason goals in 17 games. The 28-year old striker burst onto the American sporting scene in 2002 when he scored a league-best 24 goals in 26 games on the way to being named the Honda MLS MVP. Ruiz would go on to lead the Galaxy in scoring each of the next two seasons, scoring 15 goals, tied for the most in MLS, in 2003 and tallying 11 times in 2004.
Ruiz spent the last three seasons with FC Dallas after being traded from LA prior to the start of the 2005 campaign. He scored 31 goals in 68 games with FCD, serving as the club’s captain in 2007, while adding another five goals in six postseason matches.
“It means a lot to play for the Galaxy again because I feel like I am going back home and I am very excited about that,” Ruiz said. “I have a big responsibility now because the Galaxy’s goal is to win every game, so I want to play hard and score as many goals as possible and win the MLS Cup again.”
A native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, Ruiz is a member of the Guatemalan National Team with who he has appeared 72 times. Often serving as the captain of his national team, Ruiz has scored 35 goals for Guatemala, leaving him tied with Juan Carlos Plata for the most goals ever for the Chapins.
The 2008 MLS season is just around the corner and the LA Galaxy are now accepting deposits for the 2008 season. A non-refundable deposit of just $100 per seat secures your place for each 2008 Galaxy regular season game, plus great benefits including exclusive events with the team, special season seat holder gifts, and much more! Call 1-877-3GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com for more details or to purchase your 2008 Galaxy season seats.
Here is the text of the full press release or head to lagalaxy.com to check out this story and more...
LA GALAXY ACQUIRE FORWARD CARLOS RUIZ
Galaxy Trade Allocation Money and a Second Round Pick in the
2009 MLS SuperDraft to Acquire Guatemalan International
CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, January 15, 2008) – The LA Galaxy today acquired forward Carlos Ruiz from FC Dallas in exchange for allocation money and a second round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Ruiz, who began his MLS career with the Galaxy, helped lead the club to their first-ever MLS Cup title in 2002. He is the eighth leading scorer in MLS history with 81 career goals in 140 regular season games and has scored more than 100 goals in all competitions since arriving in MLS in February 2002.
“We are very pleased to be bringing a proven goal scorer and veteran leader in Carlos Ruiz back to Los Angeles,” said LA Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo. “Carlos is an experienced forward who has averaged better than a goal every two games during his MLS career and we believe that he will be a tremendous asset to our attack.”
Ruiz, who is commonly referred to by his nickname “Pescado” or “Fish”, has played six years in MLS, scoring 81 goals in 140 games while adding an MLS record 16 postseason goals in 17 games. The 28-year old striker burst onto the American sporting scene in 2002 when he scored a league-best 24 goals in 26 games on the way to being named the Honda MLS MVP. Ruiz would go on to lead the Galaxy in scoring each of the next two seasons, scoring 15 goals, tied for the most in MLS, in 2003 and tallying 11 times in 2004.
Ruiz spent the last three seasons with FC Dallas after being traded from LA prior to the start of the 2005 campaign. He scored 31 goals in 68 games with FCD, serving as the club’s captain in 2007, while adding another five goals in six postseason matches.
“It means a lot to play for the Galaxy again because I feel like I am going back home and I am very excited about that,” Ruiz said. “I have a big responsibility now because the Galaxy’s goal is to win every game, so I want to play hard and score as many goals as possible and win the MLS Cup again.”
A native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, Ruiz is a member of the Guatemalan National Team with who he has appeared 72 times. Often serving as the captain of his national team, Ruiz has scored 35 goals for Guatemala, leaving him tied with Juan Carlos Plata for the most goals ever for the Chapins.
The 2008 MLS season is just around the corner and the LA Galaxy are now accepting deposits for the 2008 season. A non-refundable deposit of just $100 per seat secures your place for each 2008 Galaxy regular season game, plus great benefits including exclusive events with the team, special season seat holder gifts, and much more! Call 1-877-3GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com for more details or to purchase your 2008 Galaxy season seats.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Poll Time
With the voting season now in full effect, we thought that we'd share a couple of polls with you this morning, but don't worry, no politics here, these are both Galaxy/soccer related.
The first poll comes from our friends at the Los Angeles Times who are playing a version of Survivor with area sports teams. Twelve teams started the competition but only 11 remain as our rivals from down the hall, Chivas USA, were eliminated at the first hurdle...so sad.
Here's the link to the Times Sports section (Round 2 of the voting has closed and it appears that the Galaxy is safe, the poll will be back up shortly for Round 3 voting). Right now the the Galaxy are right in the middle of the pack, neck and neck with USC football and ahead of the Angels, Avengers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks.
The other poll is from TheFA.com who are currently selecting the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007. All 42 players who represented England in the 2007 calender year are up for the award and mini bios on each can be found here.
You have to register here to vote in that poll, but by doing so you will be entered to win a trip to England's first game of 2008 against Switzerland on February 6, with hospitality paid by Nationwide, as well as the opportunity to present the award to the winning player, so sign up now because voting closes at midnight (in England) on January 31.
The first poll comes from our friends at the Los Angeles Times who are playing a version of Survivor with area sports teams. Twelve teams started the competition but only 11 remain as our rivals from down the hall, Chivas USA, were eliminated at the first hurdle...so sad.
Here's the link to the Times Sports section (Round 2 of the voting has closed and it appears that the Galaxy is safe, the poll will be back up shortly for Round 3 voting). Right now the the Galaxy are right in the middle of the pack, neck and neck with USC football and ahead of the Angels, Avengers, Clippers, Kings and Sparks.
The other poll is from TheFA.com who are currently selecting the Nationwide England Player of the Year for 2007. All 42 players who represented England in the 2007 calender year are up for the award and mini bios on each can be found here.
You have to register here to vote in that poll, but by doing so you will be entered to win a trip to England's first game of 2008 against Switzerland on February 6, with hospitality paid by Nationwide, as well as the opportunity to present the award to the winning player, so sign up now because voting closes at midnight (in England) on January 31.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Galaxy Players Go Under The Knife
While we were away enjoying our Holiday Break, three Galaxy players were undergoing surgery here in Los Angeles. Both Joe Cannon and Troy Roberts underwent simple hernia operations just before Christmas and are already back working out in the gym almost everyday here at The Home Depot Center.
The third player to go under the knife was Ante Jazic who underwent a debridement procedure, which is a removal and smoothing of cartilage from the ankle joint in his right ankle that could see him miss the next 4-6 months. Ante missed just over a month of action late last season after injuring the ankle at Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls. He returned to action in the road win over Kansas City and went on to play in six of the club's last seven games, starting the last four.
We'll have more on this and other news later...
The third player to go under the knife was Ante Jazic who underwent a debridement procedure, which is a removal and smoothing of cartilage from the ankle joint in his right ankle that could see him miss the next 4-6 months. Ante missed just over a month of action late last season after injuring the ankle at Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls. He returned to action in the road win over Kansas City and went on to play in six of the club's last seven games, starting the last four.
We'll have more on this and other news later...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Returning to the Galaxy
Chris Albright, Steve Cronin and Alan Gordon each inked new deals with the Galaxy the club announced today.
Check out the full release here and join us in congratulating this trio who have given a combined 13 years of service to the club heading into 2008.
Check out the full release here and join us in congratulating this trio who have given a combined 13 years of service to the club heading into 2008.
Ruud Stops By The Home Depot Center
Back in LA for the first time since his introduction as Galaxy coach, Ruud Gullit was at The Home Depot Center yesterday catching up with some of the staff and working on preseason planning. Ruud, who is in town with his family as they prepare for the big move to America, arrived at LAX over the weekend and will be in town until Thursday when he will join Alexi, Paul, Trevor and Cobi at the MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale.
The four day Combine is the final step in the process of recognizing talent ahead of the MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore on January 18.
The Galaxy currently have seven selections in the four round, 56-pick draft which will be shown live on ESPN2 starting at 11 a.m.
The Galaxy's seven picks are spread over all four rounds, with one in the first round, two in the second round, two in the third round and two in the fourth. Those picks are...
#4 - Galaxy's Natural First Round Selection
# 21 - Second Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the John Wolyniec trade on August 16, 2006
# 28 - Second Round Pick acquired from the Houston Dynamo as part of the Kelly Gray-Nate Jaqua trade on July 3, 2007
# 29 - Third Round Pick acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes as compensation for the Galaxy's release of head coach Frank Yallop
# 34 - Third Round Pick acquired from the Columbus Crew as part of the Stefani Miglioranzi trade on January 18, 2007
# 46 - Galaxy's Natural Fourth Round Selection
# 51 - Fourth Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the Santino Quaranta trade on June 25, 2007
The Galaxy had three other picks in the SuperDraft that were traded away by the club, with the Revolution claiming the Galaxy's natural second round pick (#18) through a Draft day trade in 2007, the Wizards received a second round pick from the Galaxy (#25) in the trade for Shavar Thomas last March. Incidentally, the Galaxy had originally acquired this pick from the Wizards in the trade for Kevin Hartman last year. Lastly, the Galaxy's natural third round selection (#32) was sent to the Red Bulls as part of the 2006 trade of John Wolyniec.
The four day Combine is the final step in the process of recognizing talent ahead of the MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore on January 18.
The Galaxy currently have seven selections in the four round, 56-pick draft which will be shown live on ESPN2 starting at 11 a.m.
The Galaxy's seven picks are spread over all four rounds, with one in the first round, two in the second round, two in the third round and two in the fourth. Those picks are...
#4 - Galaxy's Natural First Round Selection
# 21 - Second Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the John Wolyniec trade on August 16, 2006
# 28 - Second Round Pick acquired from the Houston Dynamo as part of the Kelly Gray-Nate Jaqua trade on July 3, 2007
# 29 - Third Round Pick acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes as compensation for the Galaxy's release of head coach Frank Yallop
# 34 - Third Round Pick acquired from the Columbus Crew as part of the Stefani Miglioranzi trade on January 18, 2007
# 46 - Galaxy's Natural Fourth Round Selection
# 51 - Fourth Round Pick acquired from the New York Red Bulls as part of the Santino Quaranta trade on June 25, 2007
The Galaxy had three other picks in the SuperDraft that were traded away by the club, with the Revolution claiming the Galaxy's natural second round pick (#18) through a Draft day trade in 2007, the Wizards received a second round pick from the Galaxy (#25) in the trade for Shavar Thomas last March. Incidentally, the Galaxy had originally acquired this pick from the Wizards in the trade for Kevin Hartman last year. Lastly, the Galaxy's natural third round selection (#32) was sent to the Red Bulls as part of the 2006 trade of John Wolyniec.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Cronin Officially Joins U.S. National Team Camp
Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin officially joined the U.S. National Team in camp today as he replaced Matt Pickens, who was given permission to leave, in Bob Bradley's 26-man squad. Cronin, who had been training with the U.S. squad prior to Brad Guzan's arrival on Sunday, will now remain in training in the lead-up to the friendly against Sweden on January 19 here at The Home Depot Center.
After starring with the U.S. Under-20 National Team earlier in his career, this is Steve's first call-up to the full National Team.
Congratulations Steve!
After starring with the U.S. Under-20 National Team earlier in his career, this is Steve's first call-up to the full National Team.
Congratulations Steve!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Welcome to 2008!
And we're back.
The blog staff had to take a couple of weeks off to recharge the batteries and enjoy the holiday season, but we're back and ready for bigger things in 2008.
A lot of stuff has happened since we last posted so here are a few of the bullet points.
The blog staff had to take a couple of weeks off to recharge the batteries and enjoy the holiday season, but we're back and ready for bigger things in 2008.
A lot of stuff has happened since we last posted so here are a few of the bullet points.
- Landon was called into the U.S. National Team for a two-week training camp ahead of the game against Sweden at The Home Depot Center on January 19. While Landon was the only Galaxy player to be called in, he will be joined in training by a familiar face as goalkeeper Steve Cronin will be doing some extra training for a few days with the National Team keepers.
- Mike Randolph was again called into the U.S. Under-23 National Team for a camp in Bradenton, Fla. from January 6-20. This is the second consecutive call-up for Randolph who played in both of the National Team's recent draws in China, starting one match.
- Becks began training with Arsenal this week, getting some extra work in ahead of the start of the Galaxy's preseason which begins next month.
- The coaching staff hosted an invitation-only combine at The Home Depot Center just before Christmas, with a number of foreign professional and local college players trying to catch the eye of the Galaxy staff.
- The club also hosted the third annual Galaxy Fantasy Camp, with more than 45 campers between the age of 19-55 turning out.
- The coaching staff is preparing for next weekend's MLS Combine at Lockhart Stadium and then the MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore on January 18.
That's it for now but we'll be back with more on these topics and a whole lot more as the season grows closer.
Just 84 more days until the season opener in Colorado!