They say Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, but your old pal Tino just isn't seeing it on this beautiful day on Planet LA.
I mean, the only thing better than today's unveiling of the new Dynamo Girls down in Houston is that the almighty Hoops are looking every bit the team I expect them to be with four points from two road matches.
Heck, the good fortune may have even spread to Becks, whose stolen car may have been found halfway around the world.
Clearly we have a lot to talk about.
THE NEWS: The Hoops establish their dominance at the top of the league table.
TCS SAYS: With the last-second draw at RSL and the 2-1 mudhole stomping of the Galaxy out here on The Planet on Thursday night, FC Dallas is setting the stage early for a return to greatness.
And with diminutive new captain Little Fishy and his very large sidekick Kenny Cooper each banging in a pair of goals already, the firepower looks to be in place.
I love this tandem, and they will only get better. I also love when Cooper picks up the ball well outside the box and takes off dribbling at people.
Why do I love it? Well, if you haven't seen him, he goes about 6-3 and 210 pounds and I would never describe him as "lumbering," but, you get the picture. But he doesn't seem to care, so you go, son.
By the way, full credit to rookie Robbie Findley from the locals, though. The dude jumped out of the gym and snapped home a sweet header for the Galaxy to make things interesting late.
Oh, speaking of Cooper, he and Freddy Adu are in a public service announcement for the Cartoon Network. The advertisement has Cooper and Adu telling kids to plop down on the couch and watch a ton of television while making sure you eat several different varieties of potato chips in each sitting.
Wait, that might not be right.
Anyway, find out for yourself on Cartoon Network, or on their website at www.cartoonnetwork.com.
THE NEWS: Jeff Cunningham wins Player of the Week.
TCS SAYS: At some point you have to call this guy the Rodney Dangerfield of MLS, don't you? All he does is score goals, and he just doesn't get much love from anyone, it seems.
So he's really not going to like this, either.
How did Brad Guzan not win Player of the Week? How about that opening-day performance to put Los Goats in the win column? There are national team goalkeeping jobs to be won for the summer tournaments, and Brad Guzan looks like he wants to get him some, as they say.
THE NEWS: The new television contracts kick off with all kinds of new looks.
TCS SAYS: MLS fans have to be psyched about all the shoulder programming - that's fancy Planet LA speak for pre- and post-game shows. Once we get all the glitches hammered out, these are really going to make the MLS telecasts a lot more professional, and informative. A huge addition to the MLS television look this year.
Now you know Tino always has notes for the broadcasters, so here are a few from the opening week:
Julie Foudy's understanding of the game is always great, but I need more energy out of her. What happened to the whole Loudy Foudy thing? If someone told her to tone it down for the season, they turned the energy down about two notches too many. She knows too much about the game to have it lost on the little stuff.
To all broadcasters: please don't spend so much time blabbing that you are not ready to call a goal - or to know who scored the goal once it goes in. Let's get those early-season gaffes out of the way.
THE NEWS: The latest rumor around Red Bull-land is Edmundo.
TCS SAYS: Don't hate me Red Bull supporters, but I am glad you don't have a striker yet. Too many of the names bandied about sounded like high-priced Band-Aids, and it says here you can buy better and smarter in the summer transfer window. The Bruce knows that, and has the confidence he can keep the team in shooting distance of the playoff race until then. Have faith, it'll pan out. These aren't you grandmother's MetroStars anymore.
THE NEWS: The Houston Dynamo on Friday unveil the new "Dynamo Girls," who will make their official debut at Saturday night's game.
TCS SAYS: If this was "Jeopardy," the question would be: "Name yet another reason why soccer teams from Texas are the greatest."
THE NEWS: It's time for the TCS Story of the Week.
TCS SAYS: If you still don't think Beckham's arrival is going to be a circus, how about the story making the rounds right now about his stolen car?
The Beckhams had a fancy BMW ripped off last year in Madrid, and now it has turned up in Macedonia - where a government official has been driving it! Turns out the government impounded it after a raid on some criminals, and decided to make it an official vehicle rather than auction the unclaimed car off, not knowing it may have been Beckham's.
Now word is out it may belong to Becks and the official is offering it back to the Galaxy's new acquisition if it can be proven that the car is the same one he had stolen from him.
Coming to an MLS stadium near you, kids.
THE NEWS: And finally, I may have actually found one downside of attending a Galaxy game once Becks arrives.
TCS SAYS: The good news is there will be a ton of celebs at the games. The bad news is there will be a ton of celebs at the games.
I take you to this past Monday, and the site is 10 rows behind home plate at Dodger Stadium, where I have somehow been invited to watch Opening Day for the local Senior Circuit side.
About two innings into a beautiful afternoon, in walks Janice Dickinson, a former supermodel turned television personality. She plops down right beside us.
Anyway, the lovely and talented (I guess?) Ms. Dickinson proceeds to spend the next few innings doing everything she can to get noticed, by anyone.
Now, I have to admit she was really pretty fun to chat with during the game, basically because she's a couple soccer balls short of a full bag ... but in a good way, I guess. Plus, she gave me a bunch of candy. At least I hope that was candy.
But the crowning moment for anyone who just wanted to watch the game came in about the seventh inning, when a camera crew from the scoreboard television screen walked down towards our seats. Janice starts prepping for her cameo, getting all primped, when suddenly the crew walks right by her to an adorable little kid, films the kid, then turns around and leaves.
Classic.
So that's my worry with the Galaxy games - violence in the stands so often associated with footie around the world. But it's not the fan versus fan stuff I am worried about.
It's when the camera crew comes down to the expensive seats and the celebs start throwing each other out of the way to get their 15 seconds that the fun will really begin!
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
