Galaxy Hold Two Picks in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft

The LA Galaxy have two picks in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, which will be held at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, January 14. The four round, 64-pick draft will begin at 11 a.m. (PT) on Thursday, with ESPN2 televising the first round of the proceedings live. In addition to ESPN2’s live coverage, fans will also be able follow all of the proceedings live as they happen at www.mlsnet.com.

As a result of reaching MLS Cup 2009, the Galaxy hold the 15th overall pick in the first round of the SuperDraft. The club also has the 39th pick of the SuperDraft, a selection that they acquired from D.C. United in March in a trade that sent Josh Wicks to United. The complete list of Galaxy picks in Thursday’s SuperDraft is…

First Round

#15 - Galaxy's Natural First Round Selection

Second Round

No Selections

Third Round

# 39 – Conditional Pick acquired from D.C. United as part of the Josh Wicks trade on March 10, 2009

Fourth Round

No Selections

The Galaxy traded their natural second round pick to the New York Red Bulls last January in exchange for Mike Magee, their natural third round pick to Chivas USA last July in exchange for Alecko Eskandarian and their natural fourth round pick to the Columbus Crew last January in exchange for midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, who was selected by the expansion Philadelphia Union in November’s MLS Expansion Draft.

At the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, the Galaxy made four selections, including the eventual MLS Rookie of the Year Omar Gonzalez with the third overall pick of the first round. The club also selected Gonzalez’s University of Maryland teammate, A.J. DeLaGarza, in the second round of last year’s SuperDraft, with the pair combining to make 58 appearances in the regular season and playoffs, including 56 starts. Gonzalez was the second consecutive Galaxy player to be named the MLS Rookie of the Year, following Sean Franklin who won the award in 2008.

Beckham Helps Milan Hold On to Second Place in Serie A

David Beckham made his second consecutive start on the right wing for AC Milan as they defeated Juventus 3-0 this afternoon. Juventus would have moved up to second place in the league with a win, but a first half goal from Alessandro Nesta and two by Ronaldinho after halftime, the second of which was set up by Beckham, allowed Milan to take the full three points in a heavy Turin fog.

Milan have now won both games that they have played since Beckham re-joined the club late last month, defeating Genoa 5-2 at the San Siro on Wednesday, a game that saw Beckham play the opening 76 minutes before being replaced by Marek Jankulovski. Beckham played the full 90 minutes for Milan today, pairing with Ronaldinho and Marco Boriello in a three-man frontline that has combined to score five goals in the last two games.

Milan are back in action next Sunday when they host Siena before the all important Milan derby against Serie A leaders Inter on January 24. Inter are currently eight points ahead of AC Milan at the midway point of the Italian season.

Donovan Earns Assist in Everton Debut

LA Galaxy captain Landon Donovan started his 10-week loan with Everton FC of the EPL today, starting and playing 68 minutes in a 2-2 draw against Arsenal. Donovan wasted no time earning his first assist off of a cornerkick that was headed in by Leon Osman for an early 1-0 advantage. For the complete game recap click here and for a more detailed assessment from ESPN click here.

Click here to see what Landon had to say to the BBC after today's game.

Courtesy of the MLS Insider from the MLS Combine in Florida, we are able to provide you with this first half evaluation from Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan.

Landon to Appear on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on Sunday

Landon may be in England right now, but that does not stop him from having a positive influence on the lives of some of his fans right here in the United States.

A few months ago, the Galaxy captain helped take part in an episode of the hit ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featuring the Cowan family of Indiana. One of the family's children is a big fan of Donovan so he was sure to send some special Galaxy-related items over to the family, including a signed jersey, while also taping a special message for them.

You can watch a clip of the show, which also features American Idol David Cook here, but if you want to see the entire episode, you will need to tune in to ABC on Sunday night at 8 p.m. (PT).

Landon Given #9 Jersey

Landon Donovan will wear "the famous number nine shirt" during his 10-week loan at Everton, the Enlgish club announced today in a press conference.

Said Donovan: "I am aware of the history of the number nine here in the Premier League and also the history of it at Everton."

"I am proud that Everton would give it to me and I intend to do the jersey proud as well. It did come as a shock when I was told I would be number nine."

Fans can check out pictures of the press conference, and even order an Everton number nine jersey with Donovan's name on it, on Everton's Web site.

The Lighter Side of Sports

In honor of Landon's first day with Everton, we bring you this very humorous commercial starting our very own Landon Donovan.

Enjoy!



For those of you that may not undertand Spanish, the premise of the commercial is that Landon is attempting to cross in to Mexico to play "Gana Gol" but is caught by the Mexican Border Secutiry.

Gana Gol is a sort of pick 'em game for Mexican Soccer League matches in which people play for money. The border agent confiscates Landon's play card and tells Landon to go back to the U.S. Not before, of course, Landon gets in one last line in the direction of the referee, we mean, border agent.

Back to Work

After a long and relaxing holiday break, the staff of The LA Galaxy is back and looking forward to an exciting 2010 season as the Galaxy embark upon their 15th season of play in Major League Soccer.

It has been a quiet couple of weeks here at The Home Depot Center, but with the start of the preseason just around the corner, the activity levels are sure to pick up significantly.

And while the team does not return to training until later in the month, a few of the players are staying busy and getting in shape for the start of the new season.

Over in Italy, David Beckham is preparing for the start of his second loan spell with AC Milan. Beckham arrived in Milan in late December and has been training with the club ahead of Wednesday's home game against Genoa in which he is expected to make his 2010 Serie A debut. To stay current with all the latest news on Beckham, who will again wear the #32 shirt for the Rossoneri, and his loan spell at Milan, be sure to follow this site and visit AC Milan's official website.

Beckham's Galaxy captain Landon Donovan is in Europe as well, having arrived in England on Saturday. He watched from the stands as his new club, Everton, defeated Carlisle United 3-1 in the Third Round of the FA Cup and was scheduled to train for the first time today, only for snow to cancel those plans. He is eligible to make his debut with the club this Saturday when Everton travel to London to play Arsenal. Be sure to visit Everton's official website and follow along here for all the latest on Landon's time in with Everton.

And closer to home, Omar Gonzalez, pictured above, has begun his first-ever camp with the U.S. National Team, right here at The Home Depot Center. The 21-year old center back was named in Bob Bradley's 30-man squad for the nearly month-long camp late last month and took part in his first official activities with the team on Monday. Training began on Tuesday, with the team preparing for a game against Honduras at The Home Depot Center on January 23, a game that could see Gonzalez make his international debut. You can follow all the latest news from the camp here and be sure to head over to lagalaxy.com in a few days time to see what Gonzalez has to say about his time with the full National Team.

Finally, the MLS SuperDraft is just over a week away and the coaching staff is doing their final prep work here in LA before heading to the MLS Player Combine, which will be held in Florida from January 8-12. There they will watch a collection of the nation's top pro prospects and make their final evaluations of players before the SuperDraft, which will be held in Philadelphia on Thursday, January 14.

* Special thank you to German Alegria for sharing with us the photo of Omar with the USMNT from today's training session.