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February 5th, 2008

sad loss of Heath Ledger

On January 22nd Heather Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment. There is still no official word on how he died, however it appears that the Brokeback Mountain and Patriot star may have had a heart attack related to prescription medication he was taking for sleeping problems.

Heath had just finished filming the latest Batman film and had started on a new film project. Many stars from Tinsletown have commented on what a hugely tragic loss this is to the Movie world and to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing this extraordinary man.

Heath Ledger will be sadly missed.

More Heath Ledger Pictures - Click Here

Leona Lewis Hopes To Wow America

January 11th, 2008

Leona Lewis

Leona Lewis has agreed to perform on this year’s American Idol in an attempt to become a chart success in the US.

Simon Cowell wants Lewis to sing during the final rounds of the series to help promote her to a large TV audience, according to the Daily Star.

A programme source said: “We always like to invite established guests onto the show to give the contestants an idea of the level they need to reach.

“Leona, with her incredible voice, fits the bill perfectly.”

Lewis is reportedly keen to crack America in 2008 and has claimed that she is willing to put in the necessary hard work to achieve success over there.

She said: “It’s really exciting but I’m just taking one step at a time. It’s a fresh start for me over there because they won’t know me from X Factor.

“It’s a new challenge but one that I’m excited about. I think you have to be totally dedicated and hard-working.

“Things don’t just fall on your lap, you must always remember that. You have to keep at it for success.”

News from www.digitalspy.co.uk

Beckham Gutted After England Booted Out Of Major Soccer Tournament

November 22nd, 2007

David Beckham has insisted England’s millionaire footballers are suffering badly after their Euro 2008 qualification exit.

Responding to the suggestion England players do not care enough, Beckham said: “There are some people out there who will say that. “But trust me, there is a lot of hurt in that dressing room at the moment. “It doesn’t matter how much money you earn, how many houses or cars you’ve got. When you lose, it hurts.”

After losing 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley and blowing their chance to qualify for next summer’s European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, England players struggled to look to the future.

“It’s pointless saying much at the end of the game, but you’ve got a very disappointed dressing room,” said captain Steven Gerrard. “From the player’s point of view, we’ve got to take the criticism, get on with it, and try and bounce back.

“But it’s going to hurt for a long time. “There’s a lot more football to play in the future and we’ve got to bounce back. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.

“Obviously we’re disappointed at the moment, but we’ve got to try and get it out of our system. But it will be difficult.”

New from www.bbc.co.uk/sport

Soccer Player Focus: David Beckham Part 2

October 19th, 2007

Manchester United era

Beckham back in the Manchester United Days

Becoming a first-team player

United manager Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club’s young players. When three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 1994-95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs, drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa, with Beckham scoring United’s only goal of the game; however, United won their next five matches and the young players performed well. Beckham became a regular player on the team and helped them to win the Premiership and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also taking the corner that Éric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Despite playing regularly for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 96.

In August 1996, Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United ahead 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon’s goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net. The 57-yard goal is the furthest successful strike at goal since the Premiership was founded in 1992.

Beckham was frequently mentioned in the press, and he made his first appearance for the England national football team on 1 September 1996, in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova. He became an automatic first-choice player at United during the 1996-97 season, helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.

United started the 1997-98 season well, but their performance deteriorated and the club finished the season in second place, behind Arsenal.

World Cup 1998

Beckham had played in all of England’s qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France, but the team’s manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not start in either of England’s first two matches. He was picked for their third match against Colombia and scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England.

In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England’s match against Argentina. Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone, striking him on the calf. Simeone later admitted to trying to get Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send Beckham off. The match finished in a draw and England were eliminated in a penalty shootout. Many supporters and journalists blamed him for England’s elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard with a picture of him centred on the bullseye. Beckham also received death threats after the World Cup.

1998-99 season (the Treble)

In the 1998-99 season, he was part of the United team that won the treble — Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.

To ensure they would win the league championship, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur, but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played centre-midfield in United’s FA Cup final win over Newcastle United and for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, since United’s first string centre-midfielders were suspended for the match. United were losing the match 1-0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those kicks, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999’s European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Beckham Player of the Year

1999-2000 season

Despite Beckham’s achievements in the 1998-99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United’s World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United’s interests to sell him, but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club.

The relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham’s fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks’ wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United’s rivals Leeds United. He later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he hadn’t been “fair to his team mates”. Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.

Beckham and Manchester United

Information gathered from www.wikipedia.org

Part 3 coming soon: Winning Over the England Fans

Spice Girls Are Back & Add More Tour Dates

October 19th, 2007

Spice Girls Reunion

The Spice Girls comeback tour kicks off in Vancouver, Canada, on December 2. More than one million fans applied for tickets to the UK concerts, which sold out in 38 seconds. They have now added two more UK dates to their world tour. The band will play Manchester MEN Arena on January 23 and 24.

Their first home date will be at London’s O2 Arema on December 15, followed by a further 16 shows in London before the band head for Manchester. Tickets for the Manchester concerts go on sale on Friday October 26.

The quintet is also planning to add more U.S. dates citing the high public demand in San Jose, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Who would have thought that all those years ago, the 5 girls started out looking like this:

Original Spice irls Image

The girl band - which comprises of Melanie C (Sporty Spice), Brown (Scary Spice), Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) - split in 2000 two years after Geri left citing “differences” between the band members.

More L.A. Galaxy & Beckham News

October 19th, 2007

Beckham’s back, but L.A. in trouble after draw

Beckham Soldiers On

Carson, CA (Sports Network) - David Beckham’s back, but Los Angeles’ winning streak is history and it no longer controls its own destiny for the playoffs.

Beckham missed the last 10 games with a knee injury but returned to the field on Thursday night as a substitute in Los Angeles’ 1-1 draw against New York.

Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak was snapped - it still hasn’t won in the four games Beckham has played in - but it’s unbeaten in seven straight to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

Los Angeles (9-13-7) trails three teams for the final two playoff berths going into the final weekend of the regular season and has to beat Chicago on Sunday to have any chance to qualify.

Troy Roberts scored and made three key defensive plays, two on New York’s Juan Pablo Angel, to keep the Galaxy’s hopes alive.

Jozy Altidore scored for New York (12-11-7), which already has the third seed in the Eastern Conference locked up.

Angel nearly matched D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio for the league scoring lead in the second minute but Galaxy goalie Joe Cannon raced off his line to knock the ball off his toes.

Angel, who has 19 goals in 24 games, missed another great chance in the third minute when he directed a header just wide of the right post.

L.A. didn’t get its first good chance until the 15th minute, and Roberts made it count with his second goal of the season.

Landon Donovan set up the goal by taking a pass from Peter Vagenas on the left side and getting enough space to make a pin-point cross. Roberts ran onto the ball at the right post and dove to head it into the empty net.

But the Galaxy were caught napping off the restart and New York equalized in less than a minute. Altidore finished a cross from Dave van den Bergh with a perfect header into the right corner of the goal for his ninth of the season.

The fast pace continued as L.A. threatened off the restart when veteran Cobi Jones passed to Donovan in the box but he didn’t get off a good shot and the ball rolled wide of the left post.

Donovan had another scoring chance in the 23rd minute when a defensive miscue gave L.A. a breakaway. But when Donovan tried to put the ball on goal, it was deflected just enough to send it over the end line.

Angel’s chances continued later in the half as he made a nice turn in the box but put a shot right at Cannon in the 28th minute and missed another shot in the 40th minute on an open chance in the box.

L.A. had one more good chance before halftime when Chris Klein got space on the end line and took a hard shot that deflected into space but was cleared out of danger by New York.

Angel had another great chance early in the second half but Roberts deflected the shot wide in the 48th minute. Dane Richards had another hard shot for N.Y. in the 54th minute, but Cannon knocked it wide of the post.

Angel’s next great chance was in the 62nd minute when he curled a free kick a hair wide of the upper left corner of the goal.

Donovan continued to create chances for L.A. in the second half, making a nice run down the left side in the 63rd minute to put a shot wide of the right post that Carlos Pavon was just steps away from tucking into an empty net.

Richards showcased his speed again in the 65th minute, racing into the box on a breakaway where he was tripped by Cannon. Although the play could have been a penalty kick, no call was made, which visibly upset Richards and Red Bull’s coach Bruce Arena.

L.A. had a solid chance off a counter but Vagenas had a hard shot at the right post knocked wide by Conway.

Beckham entered the match in the 68th minute, and he took a number of corners over the remainder of the match but L.A. couldn’t convert any of the chances. The best threat was on a short corner to Josh Tudela, but his hard shot was saved by Conway.

Altidore had two more scoring chances in the final 15 minutes, shooting just over the crossbar in the 81st minute and wide of the left post in the 92nd.

Cannon made just three saves and Conway had only four, but both goalies had great games.

If L.A. defeated New York, it could have clinched a playoff berth with a win over Chicago on Sunday. But now, L.A. has to beat the Fire and hope Colorado doesn’t beat Real Salt Lake or Kansas City loses to FC Dallas on Saturday.

New York will play New England in the first round of the playoffs. The Red Bulls host New England on Oct. 27 and visit the Revolution on Nov. 3 in the two-game, aggregate series.

10/19 01:53:14 ET

News from www.sportsnetwork.com

Beckham Plays Despite Injury

October 19th, 2007

David Backham is back for LA Galaxy

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Despite his injury, world-fame soccer star David Beckham played with the Los Angeles Galaxy Thursday night in the 68th minute of its Major League Soccer game against the New York Red Bulls.

With Beckham’s presence, Galaxy, however, did not manage to win the game in Carson, outside Los Angeles. The game tied with 1-1. Beckham last played Aug. 29 when he suffered a right knee sprain in the Supe rLiga final against Pachuca of Mexico.

Beckham, 32, made his debut with the Galaxy July 21 amid one of the greatest promotional buildups in American sports history. However, an ankle injury sustained June 6 while playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifying game against Estonia forced him to miss five of the next six games, creating fan disappointment and raising questions about the team’s credibility about its announcements about Beckham’s health.

Beckham had played six games with the Galaxy in various competitions before tonight, scoring one goal and assisting on three others. The Galaxy lost five of the six games.

News from http://www.chinaview.cn/index.htm

Samsung to help bring Speedy Wireless Internet to New York City

August 27th, 2007

Samsung to help Sprint Nextel bring WiMax to New York

SEOUL, South Korea: Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will work with Sprint Nextel Corp. to bring fourth-generation high speed wireless Internet to New York City.

Samsung said in a statement it was chosen by Sprint Nextel to provide infrastructure for New York, part of the Reston, Virginia-based wireless provider’s plan to launch the network in several U.S. cities based on an emerging mobile wireless technology called WiMax.

Sprint Nextel had already picked Samsung to provide infrastructure and equipment for similar networks planned for Washington, DC, Baltimore, Boston and other cities.

“New York is an important milestone for Samsung as we continue to expand the deployment of 4G technology around the world,” Choi Gee-sung, president of Samsung’s telecommunication network business, said in the statement.

He added that service in other cities would follow “with New York probably in the fourth quarter of next year.”

Sprint Nextel announced a little over a year ago it would develop the network using WiMax technology, which promises fast wireless broadband connections and mobile roaming at high speeds.

Similar to the Wi-Fi technology used in airports and coffee shops, WiMax, short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, can provide coverage to much larger areas.

Besides Samsung, U.S. companies Intel Corp., Motorola Inc. and Clearwire Corp. are cooperating with Sprint Nextel, which has operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, to commercialize the technology in the United States.

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire said last month that 100 million people would have access to the service by the end of 2008.

News from www.iht.com

Note: Samsung are the main Sponsors of Chelsea Football Club in the UK

Soccer Player Focus: David Beckham - Part 1

August 27th, 2007

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE

Born: 2 May 1975

Current Position: Midfielder for Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy. Also member of the England national team.

Accolades: He was twice chosen runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year.

Popularity: He was Google’s most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004. Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon.

England Career: Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. He continued to make contributions for the England national team in 2007 competitions.

Career Overview: Beckham’s career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premiership title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons.

In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He played his final match with Real on 17 June, after which the team was awarded the 2006-07 La Liga championship.
Beckham’s new contract with the Galaxy, effective 1 July 2007, gives him the highest salary of any MLS player in history. He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea FC at the Home Depot Center.

Information gathered from: www.wikipedia.org

All about David Beckham – Part 1

Childhood and early career

Beckham was born in Leytonstone, London, England; the son of David Edward Alan “Ted” Beckham, a kitchen fitter and Manchester United fan, and Sandra Georgina West, a hairdresser. He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford as a child. His mother’s family is Jewish, and Beckham has referred to himself as “half Jewish” and spoken of the influence the religion has had on him, although he is not known to practice Judaism or any other faith. In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he always attended church with his parents and sisters.

His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend Manchester United’s home matches. David inherited his parents’ love of Manchester United and his main sporting passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton’s football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. As a child he played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers - coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby.

He was Manchester United’s mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club, Leyton Orient, and attended Tottenham Hotspur’s, which was the first club he played for, school of excellence. During a two-year period in which he played for Brimsdown Rovers’ youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990. He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his fourteenth birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.

He was part of a group of young players at the club who guided the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace. He made his first appearance for United’s first-team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion, and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards. United reached the final of the Youth Cup again the following year, with Beckham playing in their defeat by Leeds United, and he won another medal in 1994 when the club’s reserve team won their league.

He went to Preston North End on loan in the 1994–95 season to get some first team experience, then made his first Premier League appearance for Manchester United on 2 April 1995, in a goalless draw against Leeds United.

Part 2 coming soon: Manchester United Era

Beckham Draws the Crowds in New York

August 19th, 2007

New York crowds flock to see BeckhamBrian Doogan at Giants Stadium, New York

New York Red Bulls 5 Los Angeles Galaxy 4

David Beckham L.A. Galaxy

A record crowd of 66,237 for a Major League Soccer (MLS) game at Giants Stadium witnessed David Beckham’s compelling debut in the Big Apple, which contained a multiplicity of defensive errors, nine goals of varying quality, a central role for the star attraction and enough dramatic fluctuations to leave New Yorkers hungry for more. For Beckham, it was a successful enterprise in almost every department bar the result.

The 32-year-old Galaxy captain played an entire game for the first time since making his $250m trans-Atlantic switch to MLS two months ago and the injured left ankle which has plagued his new venture held up sufficiently to justify his optimism that he will play some part for England in Wednesday’s friendly against Germany at Wembley. “My ankle took a pounding, obviously, and it’s more swollen now than it was before the game but I’m sure it will be fine for the game on Wednesday,” he said.

Whether he will be fine to play for England and in Galaxy’s derby game against Chivas USA on Thursday back in Los Angeles remains to be seen. The plan is that he will be on a plane to get him back to the Home Depot Center by noon on Thursday, seven hours before Galaxy kick off against Chivas. Defensively lacking, Galaxy require Beckham’s offensive qualities – even if he remains considerably distant from full match fitness – if they are to stand any chance of arresting their alarming form. Last night’s defeat was their eighth in 16 MLS games this season. They have won only three and a play-off position is increasingly looking out of reach, a huge embarrassment if this should happen.

“I think it’s about confidence,” Beckham reasoned. “We’re disappointed because we lost the game but there’s a lot we can take away from here because we showed a lot of character. To go 1-0 down, then 2-1 up before going down again 4-2 and getting it back to 4-4 shows the character in the team. It’s a learning curve and sometimes you just have to accept that you’re only going to get a point. But we have the mentality that we want more, which might be bad when you end up with nothing from the game but in the long run we have a team that wants to win and that’s a positive.”

It may also be stretching the point. Without the injured Abel Xavier, Galaxy’s defence looked shaky from the start and it was only some stellar goalkeeping by Joe Cannon which prevented New York from taking advantage of the visitors’ deficiencies to an even more embarrassing degree. Ty Harden’s poor backpass in the first minute set the tone, leaving Cannon under pressure to clear the ball and when the 23-year-old defender, in his first season in MLS, brought down Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore just outside the penalty area he was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card from referee Kevin Stott. Juan Pablo Angel, the former Aston Villa striker, made both Harden and Galaxy pay a heavier price, however, when he fired the resultant free kick low, through the wall and inside Cannon’s right post.

Galaxy needed a large shot of confidence and Beckham, demonstrating his deadliness from set pieces, provided the reassuring touch. Twice in the space of two minutes he produced perfect deliveries for Carlos Pavon, which the Peruvian striker finished with aplomb to give Galaxy the lead.

The first goal came from an in-swinging Beckham corner kick, which Pavon met at the near post with a header that beat Red Bulls goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus and slipped inside the far post. Beckham’s left ankle continued to bother him but, despite his obvious discomfort, he picked out Pavon again with a 30-yard free kick and another crisply-despatched header put Galaxy ahead. Suddenly, they had the initiative and the interplay between Beckham and Landon Donovan became pivotal, for when they combined intelligently and incisively the visitors were at their most effective.

But Red Bulls trio Clint Mathis, Dave van den Bergh and Joe Vide worked tirelessly to disrupt their rhythm, van der Bergh inciting a spiteful reaction from Beckham with a late tackle which prompted Vide to pull Beckham away while his team-mate was booked. The challenge, certainly, was questionable but no one could dispute the commitment. “We were very thin in midfield with the injuries to [former Rangers, Sunderland and Manchester City midfielder] Claudio Reyna and Dema Kovalenko, so for Clint to come in with a young kid like Joe and try to deal with Beckham and Donovan for most of the game, I give them a lot of credit,” said Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena.

Donovan came close to increasing Galaxy’s advantage with a strong run punctuated by a 25-yard shot which just rose above the crossbar and another free kick by Beckham which was deflected into the path of Alan Gordon ought to have yielded a better effort than a close-range shot straight at Waterreus. An injury to Ante Jazic, who was stretchered off with a sprained right ankle, forced Galaxy coach Frank Yallop to pull Kevin Harmse back into defence and, ultimately, it also meant that Beckham would have to soldier through 90 minutes.

Meanwhile Galaxy’s vulnerabilities at the back were never far from being damagingly exposed and Cannon had to parry a free kick by Angel before Pavon blocked the rebound on the goal line. New York were attacking with pace and penetration from the flanks, with Dane Richards especially efficient, and Angel had a perfect foil in the 6ft1ins 17-year-old Jozy Altidore, whose physicality was matched by a dextrous touch and a clear eye for goal.

Mathis showed the same ability to finish. After Pavon and Donovan had spurned chances and Angel at the other end, forcing another fine save from Cannon, Mathis collected a pass from Richards and rifled his shot into the roof of the net to tie the game at half-time and force another shift in momentum. Four minutes into the second half Mathis passed to Altidore inside the area and the striker coolly beat Cannon to regain the lead for New York. Beckham was struggling to maintain his grip on the game and fired several free kicks, with which he might have done better, straight into the wall. He did conjure up one exquisite ball for Donovan whose pass to Gordon should have registered a third goal for Galaxy but the striker shot wide from close range.

The makings of a memorable finale were put in place when Altidore cut in from the left side of the penalty box and, despite the close proximity of three Galaxyd defenders, was allowed to shoot past Cannon for his second goal to establish a two-goal lead for Red Bulls. Straight from the restart Donovan narrowed the gap with prodigious pace that took him to the right side of the penalty area and a strong finish inside the far post. Then with eight minutes remaining a Beckham corner kick created the equalising goal, substitute Kyle Veris heading against the crossbar and fellow substitute Edson Buddle scoring from the rebound. It seemed that Beckham’s intervention and Buddle’s finish had salvaged a precious point for Galaxy.

But with only two minutes remaining, it was Angel who stole Beckham’s thunder, pouncing on the loose ball when Cannon saved from Mathis and firing a shot through the keeper’s hands from a tight angle. The New York crowd, the eighth largest in MLS history and more than 50,000 above the average for the season, was in raptures.

“They witnessed an exciting game and it was great for the league and great for both teams to play in an atmosphere like that,” Beckham reflected. “Both teams made it exciting for the people who paid their money but we’re disappointed to come away with no points.”

It is a depressingly familiar scenario for Galaxy in a strange, incredible season, one which Beckham will not easily transform. But he departed with a smile on his face, for at least he had won over New York.

Star Man: Juan Pablo Angel

Red Bulls (4-4-2): Waterreus 5, Freeman 6, Parke 6, Stammler 5, Leitch 5, Richards 6, Vide 7, Mathis 8 (Mendes 90, 4), Van den Bergh 7 (Wolyniec 84, 4), Angel 9, Altidore 9 (Magee 90, 4). Booked: Mathis 68, Vide 74

Goals: Angel 4, 88, Mathis 45, Altidore 49, 70

Galaxy (4-4-2): Cannon 7, Klein 5, Harden 4, Jazic 4 (Glinton 17, 4) (Buddle 76, 5), Randolph 4, Donovan 8, Beckham 8, Harmse 6, Martino 7, Gordon 5 (Veris 60, 6), Pavon 8. Booked: Harden 4

Goals: Pavon 6, 8, Donovan 71, Buddle 82

Referee: Kevin Stott. Attendance: 66,237

News from: www.timesonline.co.uk