Dave O'Brien, Eric Wynalda, Tommy Smyth & Allen Hopkins did a bang up job broadcasting the game on ESPN2 (The Deuce!). ESPN brought on the wrath of loyal soccer fans everywhere in America when they hired baseball play-by-play guy Dave O'Brien before the 2006 World Cup. "He doesn't know our game!" It's the 2nd half of the MLS season here stateside. And this ESPN booth has a nice chemistry.
I can now say that I like the move by ESPN to hire an American broadcaster. O'Brien's got a great Mel Torme kind of voice. His timbre gives the broadcast a solid foundation for the American fan. I watched a couple of minutes of his broadcast of the SF Giants game with Barry Bonds home run race the other night. He's a great baseball play-by-play guy. The connection is obvious: he brings respectability to the sport stateside that no English or Irish announcer could do given the cultural differences. Good move, ESPN. (Side note: our very own Brad Sham does a WONDERFUL job of the same on the local FC Dallas games. He's a credit to the field and a real legend in Dallas broadcasting.)
DC United dominated the first half. They're a strong side. It's ironic that Beckham ends up on a bottom rung squad in the LA Galaxy. I can't imagine the Galaxy can make the playoffs this year. I've boon rooting them on if only to see more Beckham this season. But there's no way.
I didn't want Beckham to play last night & risk re-injuring the ankle. But the Galaxy put him in the game in the 2nd half right after Martino got a red card. So it was triple jeopardy for Beckham: rain, Galaxy down a man & a nasty, nagging ankle injury. It was thrilling to watch. He can steer this squad to a dignified finish this season. But this project won't catch enough steam until next year's season. His impact on the field is clear: pinpoint passes that open up new possibilities for the Galaxy's offense. It's immediately obvious when he gets his touches. He has a field of vision that, far and away, goes beyond what anyone in the game can see in play. The rest of the squad just needs time to acclimate to such a precise weapon. And it looks like Beckham is relishing being midfield.
English national team coach Steve McClaren was in the box suites at RFK taking this all in. It's a long shot that he'll want Beckham on the England squad after a long, frustrating July & August. But it was really nice to see international figures at a regular season MLS game. The league is coming into its own.For the skeptics: Michael Wilbon from Pardon The Interruption explains how Beckham being here isn't enough to take this game to the next level. I respect his opinions about the Beckham rule in the MLS. But I don't agree. Here's more.
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