Player

Chicago Fire striker Dominic Oduro once bet his entire salary in a race against (the, in fairness, not professional athletes that are) his front office colleagues Brendan Hannan and Jeff Crandall. That might seem foolish, until you consider that Oduro thinks he is the fastest man in MLS.

The idea that anyone not named Usain Bolt would beat him in a race probably seems absurd to him, and it turns out that his confidence, in this case, was justified.

But apparently the Ghanaian's blazing speed is not reserved solely for the field. In the commercial below, you'll see Oduro get an entire shopping cart full of groceries in the five minutes until the supermarket closes and still have time for a shirtless celebration. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.

Now when are we going to see him actually race someone so we can definitively settle the "fastest man in MLS" question once and for all? How about it, Dane Richards?

In case you didn't notice during Saturday's Chivas USA-LA Galaxy SuperClasico -- how could you not see it? -- Blair Gavin's mustache caused a little mini-stir.

It wasn't that the Goats' midfielder is now sporting a mustache. That's no big deal in this age of Movember and hipster irony. 

No, it's the style. Gavin's 'stache is downright stylish. It's Salvador Dali-esque, with a twist of Rollie Fingers and a whisp of Errol Flynn. It should be honored by the American Mustache Institute.

Anyway, it got us thinking about some of the other mustaches in recent MLS history, such as David Horst's "Horstache" or Heath Pearce's homage to John Oates or even Sacha Kljestan's Inspector Clouseau look.

And of course, we then had to know: Which is the best? 

LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham was in Athens this week for the handover of the Olympic flame and helped fly it back to the UK as the build-up to the London Olympics cranks up a notch.

But he still doesn't know if he will be at the Olympics as a spectator or competitor, trying to bring home a gold medal for the host nation.

After much speculation and debate over his presence at the London 2012 Olympics, Beckham reiterated his strong hope that he will be wearing the Union Jack in his hometown this summer.

Beckham spoke openly in an exclusive interview with the BBC about his chances of making the final 18-man roster for Team GB’s Olympic soccer team. The man in charge of the Olympics in London, Lord Sebastian Coe, recently stated there is no pressure from his staff for Beckham to be selected for the games.

Beckham also agrees there should be no room for sentiment, stating he has never relied on sentiment in the past to make a squad or team:

"You don't play for a Manchester United team managed by Sir Alex Ferguson or an England or Real Madrid team managed by Fabio Capello and get picked on sentiment."

"I've been picked to play in many games over my career because of what I've achieved on the field and that doesn't change. I'm in good form, I've scored a couple of goals lately and I'm feeling fit and working hard. So yes, if I'm called upon of course I'm ready. I've always said I wanted to represent my country in any way, shape or form."

"I've done that for many years with England, and I hope to do that with the Great Britain team."

Team GB manager Stuart Pearce will be announcing his squad at the end of May, so Beckham has a few anxious days ahead of him.

Dan Gargan usually paints to find an escape from his day job, but the Chicago Fire defender mixed his two passions in a piece he painted for Wednesday’s “Art of Futbol” Gallery showing in Chicago, which takes place on Wednesday and benefits the Chicago Fire Foundation.

Gargan’s piece is called “The Beautiful Game,” and is an abstract vision of what Gargan believes soccer embodies.

“It’s pretty simple,” Gargan told MLSsoccer.com. “It’s got a bunch of flowers in it. When I think of the game, there’s just a bunch of different ways you can express yourself through the game.

"I feel like no one person’s expression or interpretation of the game is the same, and that’s reminiscent of how flowers are. They’re all unique, and they’re all beautiful in their own way.”

Gargan has loved painting since he was a kid, and he minored in studio art at Georgetown University.

Most of his painting nowadays comes in the offseason. His paintings usually end up somewhere in his apartment or in a family member’s home, but a few players around MLS have asked him to paint for them.

This offseason, Colorado forward Conor Casey, Gargan’s former teammate, gave him a wall in his home to use as his canvas.

“He’s always been a big fan of my art,” Gargan said. “He gave me a wall and said, ‘Go for it.’”

Gargan is working on a web site to promote his art work, which he said should be up in the next few weeks.

The Fire defender is hoping people will be interested in his work, and is excited about Wednesday’s showing, which takes place from 7 to 9 pm CT at Society Art Gallery in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood.

But he’s perfectly fine if painting remains just a hobby.

“What I’m getting out of it right now is exactly what I’m looking for,” Gargan said. “That’s the ability to step away from soccer and just have fun with it. It gives me a lot of joy and a lot of happiness to me and my friends and my family. If it was to get bigger, or people were interested in it, that’s great. But it’s more of just an outlet for me.”