FanHouse David Beckham

He didn't net the game-winner, and he didn't even manage to play all 90 minutes, but global icon David Beckham still played a starring role in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 win over crosstown rivals Chivas USA on Sunday. With the victory, the Galaxy is now through to the Western Conference finals of the MLS Playoffs, keeping the team's championship hopes alive.

Beckham played with an assertive edge on offense for much of the match, showing his usual gift for fluid distribution and deft passing. The 34-year-old English national even came close to scoring in the first half on a solid strike from the top of the box that skipped just high of the crossbar.

The Hollywood paparazzi are going to have a little less fodder on the sidelines at Los Angeles Lakers games come January. Italian giants AC Milan have officially confirmed the long-rumored second loan of English midfielder David Beckham from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

While the official details of the loan haven't been released, this much seems to be known. Beckham will join Milan in January and finish out the 2009-10 Serie A season, before he hopes to join England's team at next June's World Cup. This means, as he did this season, Beckham would parachute back to the Galaxy in either late June, or more likely, early July.

When is a beard more than a beard? When it's attached to the face of an international, metrosexual heartthrob who has one of the most recognizable visages on the globe.

Yes, America, it's time to beard it like David Beckham, as the English soccer star is going grizzly these days.

In a very unsurprising development, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani declared that the club is "95 percent" finished on bringing back David Beckham to the club in January on loan. Galliani went as far as to call it a "done deal."

Unlike last year when there was a lot of alarm and acrimony when Beckham announced his intentions to play somewhere else during the break in the MLS season, this time there doesn't seem to be too much problem that he'll be away from the Los Angeles Galaxy for a period of time after the 2009 season wraps in November.

Even though we've had a first division league for nearly 14 years and a national team that's on the verge of qualifying for its sixth straight World Cup, soccer still occupies a pretty peripheral spot on the American sports landscape.

For that reason, every bit of good news matters. Even if they're not headline worthy and don't 't get the mainstream sports media and fanbase talking, small steps forward are a sign of bigger steps to come. And this week has included several, giving US soccer supporters reason to be optimistic as crucial qualifiers approach and as the MLS regular season reaches its climax.

In the world's best soccer rivalries, the opposing clubs usually represent something greater than the pursuit of wins and trophies. Whether its socio-economics, politics, religion or geography, the antagonists have roots that transcend the sport and appeal to a certain cohort of fans whose allegiance is dependent on more than just game results and marketing.

The only U.S. rivalries that even begin to approach that sort of dynamic are those between certain universities. Perhaps, stereotypically, one sort of person roots for Michigan while another supports Michigan State. But these are pale comparisons. The truth is that soccer often thrives on those sorts of conflicts, and the sport in this country has yet to develop them. There are several factors -- our pro franchises tend to have inclusive fanbases, the sport is still developing here and the size of the country makes frequent fan interaction nearly impossible.

Except for Los Angeles, where on Saturday night, the biggest game in the short history of Major League Soccer's only real rivalry will be played.

CARSON, Calif. (AP) - David Beckham was ejected for a studs-up challenge in the 17th minute, and the Los Angeles Galaxy finished with nine men in a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday night.

Beckham slid into Sounders midfielder Peter Vagenas trying to reach a ball, hooking his right ankle and bringing the former Galaxy midfielder down to the pitch. Referee Ricardo Salazar immediately issued the red card, and Beckham did not offer much of an argument before leaving the field.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- David Beckham and Landon Donovan are parting ways again -- this time as teammates who hug each other.

Donovan scored the first goal then jumped into the arms of a smiling Beckham, and the Los Angeles Galaxy celebrated their fifth win in six games with a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday night.

Beckham left after the game to train with England's national team for its exhibition game against Holland in Amsterdam on Wednesday. Donovan planned to leave Sunday morning for Miami to train with the U.S. national team for its World Cup qualifier against Mexico in Mexico City, also on Wednesday.

Version 3.0 of David Beckham's American odyssey isn't exactly off to the best start in the world. After being heckled in his first home game at the Home Depot Center, the Englishmen was involved in another incident with a fan Saturday night when the Los Angeles Galaxy played the Kansas City Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

Unlike the ugly incident in Los Angles where a visibly agitated Beckham went over the signage barrier to confront a fan from the L.A. Riot Squad, what happened in Kansas City was just plain weird, with the audio clearly picked up by ESPN's microphones.