Beckham could spice things up
Galaxy fans, what would you give to have David Beckham playing for your team next season?
Would you give up the name “Galaxy?”
A British newspaper, the Mirror, citing a report by the “influential” Manchester United fanzine Red Issue, writes that Malcolm Glazer “is ready to expand his Manchester United empire into America and wants David Beckham to spearhead the ambitious move.”
According to the report, Glazer wants to buy into the Galaxy, put Beckham on the roster and rename the team.
The Mirror writes: “According to the popular fanzine, Beckham is the man the Glazers want to make the bold venture work, the former England captain being offered an escape route from his Real Madrid nightmare with a lucrative playing deal at L.A. Galaxy.
“Beckham’s soccer schools project -- which has a base in Los Angeles -- is run by the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in the U.S. and they are understood to be keen to link up with the Glazers over the scheme.”
Manchester United goes Hollywood?
Should the next rumor have Man U striker Wayne Rooney following Beckham to Carson, we can write off the whole escapade as “Rooney Tunes.”
Trivia time
Which football rivalry is older, USC-UCLA or USC-Notre Dame?
Beckham’s son suggests ‘Brooklyn’s Dodgers’
Briefing offers its top 10 new names being considered for the Galaxy:
10. Manchester United States
9. Man USA
8. Man, U Remember When They Called Us the Galaxy?
7. Manchester United of Los Angeles
6. Miracle on Manchester
5. David Beckham and 10 Other Guys
4. No One Here Can Play for England
3. Nippon Beck Ham Fighters
2. Beckham Family Time Share
1. The Spice Girls
Eli captaining a lip-syncing ship
The big brother is 10-1, great in the fourth quarter and making a strong case for his third NFL most-valuable-player award.
The little brother is 6-5, has lost three games in a row and has developed a habit of throwing back-breaking interceptions in the fourth quarter.
Peyton and Eli Manning have become the NFL’s version of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. One gets all the acclaim and the other keeps faltering and is not very good live from New York.
Where’s T.O.?
According to a survey of Sports Business Daily and Journal readers, five of the NFL’s six most marketable players are a quarterback who has never played in a Super Bowl, a rookie running back averaging three yards a carry, a lame-duck running back, a quarterback who will fail to play a December game for the third time in five years and a quarterback who led the league in interceptions in 2005.
In order, they would be Peyton Manning, No. 1 with 44% of the vote; Reggie Bush, No. 3 with 9.8%; Tiki Barber, No. 4 with 5.8%; Donovan McNabb, No. 5 with 3.6%, and Brett Favre, No. 6 with 3.5%.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was No. 2 with 18.6%, but slipped from his No. 1 position in 2005.
Trivia answer
USC played Notre Dame in football for the first time in 1926. USC and UCLA kicked off their series in 1929.
And finally
Florida State football Coach Bobby Bowden is 77 and his Seminoles, who play UCLA in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27 in San Francisco, have lost six games for the first time since 1976, his first season at the school, but he says he has no intention of retiring.
He leads Division I-A coaches with 365 victories, three more than Penn State’s Joe Paterno.
“Like those ol’ fighters, I guess, you think you’ve got another win in you,” Bowden said at his weekly Sunday breakfast with writers after home games.
