in Manhattan Beach that's a little pricey sometimes - that this guy wouldn't have come in and been the one that would have the difference," he said.
Yeah, always great when a teammate refers to you as "this guy."
But thanks to a smart (or lucky) move by Sampson, Pando shut all of us up for one memorable moment with a marvelous game-winning strike. (Quick aside: Go to golden goal in the Cup Final. Forget FIFA, the game should've ended on that spectacular moment.)
But now the fall-out begins and it is pretty fascinating. The Galaxy were obviously disappointing all season, but got hot at the right time. So what comes from it? Let's look at a few areas:
STEVE SAMPSON: Does this help rehab his image in this country? This guy was about as popular as tofu at a Texas steakhouse. But at the end of the day, he delivered a double in his first full season in charge. Say what you want about how he managed the team during the regular season, but in the MLS setup, the end result worked. I think Sampson would be the first to point out Machiavelli is not some good young striker for Juventus.
PANDO RAMIREZ: Here's the question that has to be asked: will Pando go from MLS Cup MVP to shown the door? It's a pretty valid question as Doug Hamilton and Steve Sampson will have to decide if they want to give him another chance as a starter, because he is way too costly to be a sub, or less. A trade would make sense for L.A. this offseason, as his value was obviously pushed up by the MLS Cup game-winner.
LANDON DONOVAN: Again, say what you want about him (as our friends in San Jose do so comically) but the kid is a bit of a winner, isn't he?
THE MLS COMPETIITION FORMAT: Here come the barrage of questions in the offseason, and rightfully so. Does a team that disappointed for as long as the Galaxy did really deserve a championship? What exactly did the San Jose Earthquakes gain by their wonderful regular season? All fair questions, and ones that will be given a very close look now. My take hasn't changed: too many teams make the playoffs, but there still should be a postseason.
THE REVS: They do deserve a tip of the cap for a very consistent season, which no one believed they could pull off. Again, I'll take you back to an old TCS, circa May 5: "Now I don't believe this team can play this well all season any more than I believe that Katie Holmes is really dating Tom Cruise (nothing like a fake romance to sell some movie tickets), but the Revs definitely have the talent to be considered a legit MLS Cup contender, at the very least."
GRAB A COLD BUD (OR AQUAFINA) AND PUT YER FEET UP:
WHAT I'LL BE WATCHING:
With another MLS season in the bank and the World Cup teams sorted, it's now a steady diet of friendlies, Champions League and foreign leagues. Not a bad thing, either. But if this frees you up for some other TV viewing, here's what gets season passes on the Palace TiVo:
Monday: Prison Break (Fox)
Tuesday: My Name Is Earl (NBC), The Office (NBC)
Wednesday: Lost (ABC)
Thursday: Everybody Hates Chris (UPN), Alias (ABC)
Friday: Threshold (CBS)
Saturday: nada
Sunday: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO), Extras (HBO), The West Wing (NBC), Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Prison Break is the best new show on TV, Alias and The West Wing are barely hanging on to season-pass status and Threshold makes the list because Carla Gugino is, well, Carla Gugino.
FLICK-ONS:
As reward for winning the title, AEG is giving the Galaxy a luxury suite at Staples Center to watch the struggling Lakers and the soon-to-be-struggling Clippers for the NBA season. So I guess the word "reward" is relative.
Barcelona USA vs. Toronto Hosers in Queens, N.Y. for Opening Day 2008?
After the way New Eng-er-land has lost two Cup Finals, I don't much envision a Guatemalan Appreciation Day at Gillette Stadium next season, do you?
Congrats to my man Rich in NYC on a huge win for his Socceroos.
Did you know reading TCS can actually save you money? The movie "Jarhead" stunk. There, I just saved you 10 bucks. You're welcome.
Just a quick hello to my beloved Section 8'ers back in Chicago as I write this while on a flight to Honolulu for a little post-season R&R. How's the weather back there, kids?
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
