Good evening folks. The Opening match of the Pan Pacific Championship, between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Gamba Osaka, is fast approaching, and for those of you who plan on watching, it will be the first chance to watch an MLS team play in 2008.
The Houston Dynamo-Sydney FC match that follows the LA-Osaka match should be the better match from a soccer standpoint, but both games will offer very enticing match-ups as we get a glimpse of how MLS teams stack up against clubs from Australia and Japan.
For a preview of the matches, check out Jeff Carlisle’s preview on ESPN.com.
I plan on watching tonight’s matches and will look to do a light running commentary on both games (at least that’s the plan, I have a feeling those plans will chance). At the very least, I will offer you night owls and West Coast SBI members a place to discuss the matches as they happen (and also offer up your own play by play on the matches for those unfortunate souls who don’t have ESPN Classic.)
Check back here throughout the night as we try to keep you updated on the Pan Pacific Championship. Enjoy the action.
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10th minute- Okay folks, I’m done for the night. I’ll watch this in the morning. Thanks for following along tonight.
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6th minute– Is anyone still watching (or reading here)? If so, let me know in the comments section.
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3rd minute- Yes, I’m up and watching this match. I can’t promise that I’ll make the full 90 minutes.
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HOUSTON DYNAMO vs. SYDNEY FC
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FINAL– Gamba Osaka 1, LA Galaxy 0. The second half from LA was better than the first half, but that wasn’t really saying much. Having Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz would certainly help, but I still wonder about that defense.
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91st minute– Good second half from Beckham, who has to be dead tired.
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90th minute– If there is any stoppage time in this game somebody should slap the referee.
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85th minute– I’ve made fun of the Galaxy tonight but I do actually think they will be a good team this year. Assuming the defense can be pieced together and there are no serious injuries.
And Beckham tackles Lucas cleanly, nice bit of revenge there. He’s a tough cookie.
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83rd minute– I’m going out on a limb and saying Beckham won’t play in the third-place game.
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81st minute– Wow, nice sequence for LA, a long wicks through to Beckham, who delivers a laser to Ely Allen in the area. The rookie doesn’t do a thing with it. LA keeps the ball and had some looks but the Galaxy’s forwards are horrendous.
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79th minute– Somebody wake me up when Josh Tudela wins a tackle.
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78th minute- Why in the world is Beckham in this match? Did Frank Yallop show up to guest-coach the second half?
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76th minute– McDonald completely ruins a wide-open look by blasting a short-range shot into the stands. That was the Galaxy’s best chance to equalize.
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71st minute– Is anybody still following along on the commentary? If so, please let me know in the comments section.
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66th minute– Nice camera shot of Beckham going at it with Gamba Osaka’s Lucas. He must have said something about Beckham’s tattoo of Posh.
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64th minute– Beckham is still in the game for some reason. Apparently he lost a bet with Ruud Gullit.
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62nd minute– Wicks does well to come off his line and thwart a dangerous Osaka sequence.
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61st minute– Two-thirds into this match and I’m convinced that somebody needs to start airing J-League games. Osaka is playing some nice soccer.
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56th minute- Here’s hoping the Houston-Sydney game is a bit more competitive than this one.
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54th minute– Bare with a good shot that Wicks saves with ease.
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51st minute– Josh Wicks races out of the area to head the ball clear. What’s with the LA goalkeepers rushing off their lines?
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49th minute– We’re under way in the second half and the poor soccer has picked right up.
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HALFTIME– The Galaxy is making some subs at halftime. We will get to see Sean Franklin and Julian Valentin, a pair of rookie defenders who have impressed in preseason. I’m actually interested to watch now.
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HALFTIME– So for those of you who noticed, this is my second running commentary of the day. After watching Milan-Arsenal and Barcelona-Celtic, and now watching this, I’m at a loss for an analogy to describe the disparity between the two.
It’s like going from being at the Playboy Mansion to being on The View.
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HALFTIME– I must confess, I have switched the game to ESPN360.com and am watching on the laptop as I catch up on my Rob & Big.
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HALFTIME– Gamba Osaka 1, Galaxy 0. You’re not missing much if you haven’t been able to see this match. Osaka has been sharper and passing better while the Galaxy has looked extremely rusty.
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45th minute– If you’re wondering about actual action, there hasn’t been much, not from the Galaxy anyway.
SAVE CRONIN. Bare with another shot on goal and Cronin does well to stop it.
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41st minute– Anybody else think Josh Tudela wears a beard so he doesn’t look 12 on the field?
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35th minute– Hey, it’s David Becham. I didn’t know he was going to be here.
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33rd minute– It’s official, Alvaro is a diving machine.
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32nd minute– I would hate to have paid for a ticket to this match. Then again, if I was at this game it would mean I was in Hawaii. I could put up with this mess if I were in Hawaii.
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27th minute- Osaka is knocking the ball around pretty well. Not bad for a team missing more than half of its starters.
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25th minute– I know it’s just the pre-season, and LA is missing some key players, but if this is "Sexy Football" I think the Galaxy should try abstinence.
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23rd minute– I wonder how much it would cost an MLS team to pry Bare away from Gamba Osaka. I’m sure some MLS teams are wondering that same thing right now.
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22nd minute– This game is awful. Osaka looks sharp and the Galaxy looks a mess. Shouldn’t be a surprise really.
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15th minute– The Galaxy dodge a bullet as Bare breaks in on an empty net but can’t catch up to the ball after beating Cronin to the ball.
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12th minute– Wow, Gavin with a great pass to the opposition, which nearly leads to a goal.
And there’s Edson Buddle, with a chance in the box only to lose it on his own.
SAVE STEVE CRONIN. Nice shot on goal and Cronin pushes it wide.
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11th minute– It’s easy to forget that this is an early pre-season game for the Galaxy….until you look at some of the names in the LA lineup.
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8th minute– I must say the crowd is pretty disappointing. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about a Hawaii expansion franchise any time soon (Damn).
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6th minute– WOW, What an acting job by LA’s Pires. He gets kicked and goes down like someone sprayed him with an Uzi.
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4th minute- GOAL GAMBA Osaka. And just like that, the Galaxy’s 2008 is off to a flying start.
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3rd minute– Don’t you love it. It’s the Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii and an MLS team still has to play on football lines. Funny.
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1st minute– We’re under way.
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PRE-GAME– If you know who all eleven Galaxy players are you deserve a prize.
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PRE-GAME– A pretty sparse crowd at the match. Figures the one MLS team not used to that is playing.
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PRE-GAME– And Greg Vanney, the newest Galaxy player, is in the lineup. And was that Jay-Z’s older brother in the Barcelona jersey?
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PRE-GAME– We’re almost under way and the anthems are being played.
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10:30pm– Okay, I’ll admit it, I thought the game started at 10pm. With an 11pm start I’m curious how many of you will be staying up to watch.