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CARSON -- David Beckham knows what the Galaxy needs to do to turn around this disaster of a season and start a steady climb toward their rightful place among Major League Soccer's trophy contenders.

“We're champions,” he said on the eve of Wednesday night's Home Depot Center showdown with the San Jose Earthquakes. “And we need to start playing and walking on the field like champions, instead of walking on the field thinking because we're champions, we just have to turn up.”

It's different phrasing, but the sentiment hasn't changed over 11 weeks. L.A. started poorly and, but for moments here and halves there, have continued to play far below its standard. The Galaxy (3-6-2) already have lost more MLS games than all of last season and sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, 15 points -- five victories -- off the lead.

The Galaxy have two more matches before the league takes two weekends off for international fixture dates, and if they're going to start righting things before then, they'll have to do so without captain Landon Donovan and star striker Robbie Keane, who are away until mid-June -- perhaps later for Keane -- with their national teams.

What that means, exactly, is hard to say. Keane has not played well and is dealing with a hamstring injury that would have kept him out of Wednesday's game regardless. Donovan has been up and down, not to his usual level.

Head coach Bruce Arena took a sly swipe their way when discussing San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski, MLS's goals leader, who is with Donovan in the U.S. national team camp in Orlando, Fla. Asked how much his absence might affect the Earthquakes, Arena said: “He's a good player, and he's been playing well. If you have good players that aren't playing well and you're losing, perhaps it's not as much.”

He then was asked whether his team will miss Donovan and Keane.

“It hasn't the last five games or so,” Arena said. “I mean, when you haven't done well and you lose a player, you can't be crying about it. ... No one questions the quality of Robbie and Landon, but we don't have any results to show it's going to be a loss we can't overcome.”

Defender Todd Dunivant says he thinks it's not necessarily a negative, that the Galaxy will have to be more proactive without their stars.

“Guys are going to have to step up to the plate,” he said. “We need that kind of responsibility to be put on other players, and everyone on this team needs to step it up a little bit. It's not one or two guys need to pick up their game, it's everybody needs to raise their game.

“Sometimes having absences like this help you because guys have to step up and the responsibility is put on them.”

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CARSON -- Josh Saunders wasn't going to sneak quietly back onto the field for the Galaxy. His teammates made sure of that, welcoming him warmly into training again after 3½ weeks away in Major League Soccer's substance abuse treatment program -- and teasing him, of course, about the time off.

“He looks great,” David Beckham said Tuesday after Saunders' second on-field session since he left the team April 27. “He's straight back into it. He's had a bit of stick [from his teammates] for having a few weeks off, but it's good to have him back. It's important for him to get back with the players and team and his friends, and he seems happy.”

Saunders isn't yet eligible to play -- he's still in the program, returning to the facility each day from Home Depot Center -- and there's no timeline for his return, but reintegrating with the group, in the locker room and on the training field, is an important step in his recovery.

It's stress, not, as widely speculated, drugs or alcohol that sent the 31-year-old goalkeeper into MLS's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program, Saunders said in a brief exchange with media Tuesday.

“I was putting myself under a lot of pressure. I just needed to step away ...,” he said. “I was under some stress, had some family issues, wanted to deal with them on my own. We're humans. We have a life outside of soccer, and people forget that. I'm just happy to be in the state that I'm in now.”

So are his teammates.

“It's like he was never gone,” defender Todd Dunivant said. “He addressed the team, and we welcomed him back with open arms, and we'll support him all along the way. ...

“[It's vital for him] to be around the locker room, around the guys, get the banter and all that kind of stuff that we get on a daily basis. If you don't have that, it's difficult. You can see that with guys that go out for long injuries and come back, they miss that. Just to welcome back and give him jabs a little bit again and get him in with the jokes again makes a difference.”

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CARSON -- David Beckham noted a couple of weeks ago that there was no need for the Galaxy to panic yet, but if things didn't turn soon, that time would quickly arrive.

After Saturday night's SuperClasico loss to Chivas USA, perhaps it is time for panic.

The Galaxy (3-6-2) haven't won in their last five games, and all three of their losses in that span have been by shutout. They still don't have a clean sheet in 13 games, including the CONCACAF Champions League, after posting 22 in 46 competitive matches last year. They've surrendered the first goal 10 times and in seven of their last eight games. By the end of the day, they could be in the Western Conference cellar.

We've seen too little from Robbie Keane, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan and Juninho -- and Keane and Donovan are leaving for awhile -- and although team defense has improved following a horrid start to the season, there remain problems -- and likely will until Omar Gonzalez returns hopefully sometime this summer.

And now the defending MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield champion has fallen behind its hated rivals in the battle for SoCal supremacy. Chivas is hotter (especially with Juan Agudelo's arrival), better defensively and steadily moving forward toward something potentially very grand.

Saturday's loss -- with Chivas dominating play in the first half but not creating much out of it, the Galaxy responding nicely in the second half, and a penalty kick with 20 minutes to go making the difference -- was another backward step for L.A.

“On the season, our record is probably not real precise in therms of how we've played,” head coach Bruce Arena said. “I think we've played better than our record indicates, but tonight the difference in the game is taking a chance. We didn't do it, and give [Chivas] credit.”

The Galaxy has played well in spurts this season, early on against Real Salt Lake, the rout of D.C. United, the second half in last week's draw at Montreal. They were swell to start the second half Saturday, creating far more dangerous chances than Chivas could -- Miller Bolaños' shot off the post and the play leading to the PK aside. If not for Dan Kennedy's 50th-minute stops on Pat Noonan's blistering shot across the face of the net and Kyle Nakazawa's rebound, L.A. wins.

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CARSON -- Chivas USA ended the most painful drought in club history Saturday night, beating its hated rival for the first time since 2007, but more than that, the Goats offered a tantalizing glimpse at what their future could look like.

Juan Agudelo, acquired in a trade Thursday from the New York Red Bulls, made a fine impression in his debut, teaming up front with Jose Erik Correa and Miller Bolaños to create an attack that, once everyone is on the same page, could lead to something very special.

The Goats dictated play most of the first half and, with new defender Danny Califf anchoring a fine backline performance, held off a resurgent Galaxy after halftime to claim a 1-0 triumph before a sellout crowd of 18,800 at Home Depot Center.

The goal came on a 72nd-minute penalty kick by Correa, who had to take it twice -- the first was waved off when Jorge Villafaña encroached before the shot -- firing both to virtually the same spot.

That's two goals Chivas (4-6-1, 13 points) has scored at home this year, both on penalties, but this one meant a lot more, giving the club its first home victory in six tries.

That it came against the Galaxy (3-6-2, 11 points) made it all the more spectacular. L.A.'s unbeaten streak against its cross-stadium rival had reached 12 games, with victories in the last five meetings and in the last six regular-season encounters.

“It's big,” said Chivas coach Robin Fraser, a former Galaxy star. “I think I underestimated the level of rivalry between the two teams when I first got here. I was surprised by the nature of the comments after our first game last year, and it was very evident that there is very little respect for this club [from the other side]. We talked a lot during the week that the only way to get respect is to go out and earn it and I thought they did a good job of that tonight.”

Chivas came closest to scoring in the first half -- Bolaños hit the base of the right post from 24 yards after stripping the ball from Juninho near midfield in the 34th minute -- and got big back-to-back saves from goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, on Pat Noonan and Kyle Nakazawa, five minutes into the second half -- and got the only goal following a rather odd play.

Oswaldo Minda, returning from a yellow-card suspension, lofted the ball into the Galaxy goalmouth, and goalkeeper Brian Perk leapt over Agudelo to knock the ball away. As both crumpled to the ground, it fell to Correa, who volleyed sharply past A.J. DeLaGarza and at former Chivas defender David Junior Lopes, who was standing on the goal line.

The ball caromed off Lopes' left arm. Referee Mark Geiger showed him the red carded and gave Chivas the spot kick.

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CARSON -- Things always are a little more intense around Home Depot Center when the SuperClasico nears, but given all that's occurred this week -- on both sides -- Saturday night's showdown might provide a respite from all the madness. Imagine that.

Ninety minutes on a patch of green, no matter how heated the atmosphere, has to be simpler than everything the Galaxy and Chivas USA are going through, what with middling form, poor results, blockbuster trades, White House visits, international call-ups and the biggest star in town's jaunts across Europe carrying a flame.

It has made for hectic preparations for a match that, rivalry aside, is vital for both teams. The Galaxy are 3-5-2, have already matched last year's loss total and are looking to end a four-game winless streak while buoyed by their performance of the second half of last week's 1-1 tie at Montreal.


Chivas is 3-6-1, has scored just six goals in 10 games, given away five points by conceding end-of-game goals, and is 0-5-0 in home matches with just one goal, on a penalty kick. The Goats are the home team for the first of three meetings this season.

“It's a little different than in some years past, because we're both struggling a little bit,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan noted. “So there's probably added meaning in that way, because we both need the points.”

L.A., a preseason favorite to repeat as champion, has only 11 points, 15 behind Western Conference (and Supporters' Shield) leader Real Salt Lake and 11 out of third place. Chivas is only a point behind, but it's also only a point out of the Western cellar.

“It's an important game in a number of ways,” Chivas coach Robin Fraser said. “Both teams are definitely looking for points. It's the rivalry, it's where we are in the table. There's a lot riding on this game.”

Fraser and the Chivas technical staff has been working overtime this week, engineering a pair of trades that, together, offer a major statement of purpose. They brought in 19-year-old striker Juan Agudelo, the most prized young player in America, and then to replace defender Heath Pearce -- who went to New York for Agudelo -- they acquired veteran center back Danny Califf from Philadelphia (for winger Michael Lahoud). It appears to be a move forward up front and in the back.

It will be the first Clasico for Califf, who spent his first five seasons with the Galaxy but was gone before Chivas debuted. First Clasico on the Goats side for his former L.A. teammate, former Galaxy captain Peter Vagenas, too.

“I peaked my head in [the Galaxy locker room] today and told them I'm excited,” said Vagenas, who signed with Chivas during preseason. “This is obviously a special game for me. I've never hidden my emotion for the [Galaxy] and everything that goes on there, but nobody wants to beat the Galaxy more than I do Saturday night.”

If Chivas pulls it out, there will be blame to go around.

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CARSON -- The Galaxy and Chivas USA renew their SuperClasico rivalry Saturday night at Home Depot Center, so what better time to weigh in on the best rivalries in soccer -- in MLS and around the world.

We asked a handful of players and coaches with both teams their thoughts on what matchups are the real Clasicos. Here's what they said.

• BEST WORLD RIVALRY

There are so many classic derbies in world soccer, from Boca Juniors-River Plate (Argentina) to Inter Milan-AC Milan and Lazio-Roma (Italy), Tottenham-Arsenal and Liverpool-Everton (England) to Rangers-Celtic (Scotland), Real Madrid-Barcelona (Spain) to Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe (Turkey), America-Guadalajara (Mexico) to Red Star-Partizan (Serbia). There, that scratches the surface.

What's the best?

Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy: “The Real Madrid-Barça match has been pretty special the past few years. You don't want it to get diluted, because they play each other 12 times a year. Now that Manchester City is having their way in the English Premier League, them with Manchester City is pretty special. And I always like watching Tim Howard and Everton play against Liverpool.”

Galaxy midfielder Juninho: “Brazil-Argentina.”

Chivas forward Juan Pablo Angel: “Boca-River.”

Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza: “There's so many out there, man. Barcelona-Real is a pretty good one, I think. I think that one's got to be the top one.”

Chivas defender Ante Jazic: “Barça-Real.”

Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan: “Barcelona-Madrid.”

Chivas defender James Riley: “Ooh, that's a tough one. I think Celtic-Rangers has the best history, and Boca-River Plate. I would go with Celtic-Rangers.”

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President Obama teased David Beckham and Robbie Keane, recognized Landon Donovan as someone “who has done more for American soccer than just about anybody” and praised the Galaxy for having “lived up to hype” as he honored the MLS Cup champions Tuesday at the White House.

The president's rollicking address, which betrayed more than a passing knowledge of the game and the team, offered a nice respite for the struggling champions, who are 3-5-2 and haven't won in their last four games.

Instead, the focus was on last year, when the Galaxy romped to Major League Soccer's Supporters' Shield, setting a post-shootout era points record in the process, and swept through the playoffs to win their third MLS Cup title, to go with their 2002 and 2005 triumphs.

“It's an amazing tradition to have, for teams to be able to come here," Beckham told media covering the event. "Because you come out meeting the president, and it's motivation -- it motivates you to want to come back next year. I hope we do, because it's a great day, a proud day for all of us.”

Obama regaled a gathering in the East Room -- moved from the South Lawn because of a thundershower threat -- with jokes at the expense of L.A.'s two biggest foreign stars, recounted their title triumph last Nov. 20 over the Houston Dynamo, and applauded head coach Bruce Arena for taking the Galaxy “from worst to first in just four years.”

“The truth is, in America, most professional soccer players have the luxury of being able to walk around without being recognized,” the president noted. “But not these guys. This is the Miami Heat of soccer. And together, they represent one of the most talented lineups that MLS has ever seen.”

“It makes you realize that people care, people take notice,” Donovan said afterward. “At the end of the day, we’re just playing a soccer game, so I get it, there are a lot more important things going on in the world. But it’s still cool to know that you inspire people and people care about what you’re doing.”

The Galaxy ate it up on an emotional afternoon that featured a brief reunion with goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who is in MLS's substance-abuse treatment program and had been away from the team since April 27.

“It was very nice to see Josh,” Donovan said. “We're all very much encouraged to see him and see how he's doing. I know it was a big deal for him, and I think we're all really excited that he could be a part of it.”

Several figures on last year's championship team weren't invited to be part of the ceremony. Only current Galaxy players and coaches who were with the club in 2011 were honored -- newcomers sat with the audience -- and not everybody was pleased about that.

Midfielder Chris Birchall, so key in the second-leg victory over New York in the first round of the playoffs but now with the Columbus Crew, took to his Twitter account to express his unhappiness Thursday night, also mentioning retired defender Frankie Hejduk, who is now with Columbus' front office.

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Here is a transcript of President Obama's remarks Tuesday at the White House honoring the Galaxy's MLS Cup championship:

“Thank you. (Applause.) Everybody, please have a seat. Have a seat. Well, welcome to the White House, everybody. And congratulations to the L.A. Galaxy on your third MLS Cup. (Applause.) Number three.

“Before we start, I want to acknowledge an L.A. native and my outstanding secretary of Labor -- I don't know how her game is, but she's a fan. Hilda Solis is here. (Applause.) We’ve got some proud members of the California delegation, the House of Representatives who are here. We're thrilled to have them.

“I’m not going to flatter myself by assuming these cameras are for me. (Laughter.) I want to thank the Galaxy for letting me share in the spotlight. (Laughter.) The truth is, in America, most professional soccer players have the luxury of being able to walk around without being recognized. But not these guys. This is the Miami Heat of soccer. (Laughter.) And together, they represent one of the most talented lineups that MLS has ever seen.

“You’ve got Robbie Keane, all-time leading scorer of the Irish national team. (Applause.) Cousin of mine. (Laughter.) Robbie arrived halfway through last season, scored his first goal in the first 21 minutes of his first game. His teammates were so happy to have him that they filled his locker with what they called the “pleasures of Ireland” -- Guinness, Bailey’s, and Irish Spring. (Laughter.) Hopefully, Robbie has broadened their horizons a little bit since then.

“We also have a young up-and-comer on the team, a guy named David Beckham. (Laughter.) I have to say I gave David a hard time -- I said half his teammates could be his kids. (Laughter.) We're getting old, David. Although you're holding up better than me. (Laughter.)

“Last year, at the age of 36, David had his best year in MLS, leading the team with 15 assists. He did it despite fracturing his spine halfway through the season, injuring his hamstring the week before the championship game. He is tough. In fact, it is a rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear. (Laughter.) David Beckham is that man. (Laughter.)

“And then there’s the captain, Landon Donovan (applause) who has done more for American soccer than just about anybody. Landon’s eye for the net, his will to win are legendary, and once again, he stepped up when his teammates needed him most.

“After going undefeated at home last season, the Galaxy was struggling in the cold and rainy championship match. But then, in the 72nd minute, David headed the ball to Robbie, who made a perfect pass to Landon, who chipped in the game-winner. And that set off an all-night celebration in L.A. -- although my understanding is that David had to get up for carpool duty at 8 a.m. (laughter), so his day was ending a little early.

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CARSON -- Leonardo got a full half and Brian Perk played for the first time since preseason, substantial developments both, as the Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes traded penalty kicks in an MLS Reserve League game Tuesday.

More significant, perhaps, was Hector Jimenez's performance in a new position.

The second-year winger from Bell Gardens was terrific as right back, teaming with Michael Stephens on the flank as L.A. dictated terms nearly the entire match before settling for a 1-1 draw on the Galaxy's training field at Home Depot Center.

Jimenez, who would be playing decent first-team time with a lot of Major League Soccer clubs but is caught behind L.A.'s deep, veteran midfield core, said he'd played as an outside back “toward the end of last year in a reserve game for a few minutes” but that this was otherwise a debut.

“I felt good,” he said. “I thought offensively I got involved a lot, it's just the defensive part, where I need to get used to checking the [restraining] line and stuff like that, but I thought I played good for the 90 minutes.”

Galaxy assistant coach Curt Onalfo, who runs the reserve side, agreed.

“The interesting thing sometimes in sport is when through injury and that sort of stuff you end up shifting things around, and sometimes all of a sudden something pops up that maybe you haven't seen. And I think that's the case.

“If you look at his game and you compare it to when he plays in midfield, he had just as much an influence going forward -- or maybe even more. The combination of Mikey Stephens coming inside and [Jimenez] overlapping, I thought was good. Would have liked to see more goals from it. It was a game where we possessed and had really the majority of possession, the majority of play. It's a game where you think you're going to get three points from.”

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CARSON -- The Galaxy lost five games all of the 2011 Major League Soccer season, and two of those were giveaways, with B sides sent in to absorb defeat in New York at the end of a insane stretch in early October and in the season finale at Houston a few weeks later.

They matched that total Sunday in just their ninth game, another hapless display in front of the net costing them plenty in a 1-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls, who scored an early goal, then bunkered in and survived a second-half onslaught to escape with the points.

“It's a bit of a broken record,” head coach Bruce Arena said, then did his best impression, mentioning 11 times in eight minutes that the Galaxy had “enough chances to create [enough] goals” to win, or words to that effect. Chances are all well and good, but when they're not put away, things go wrong.

Things are going very wrong for L.A. (3-5-1, 10 points), which has lost three of six league home games and sit a dozen points -- four victories -- behind San Jose and Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference standings.

Ryan Meara made four big saves and the Red Bulls (5-3-1, 16 points) defended with vigor, but it's the Galaxy's lack of precision when it counts -- a recurring nightmare for them -- that's quickly defining what is developing into a deeply disappointing campaign.

“It's getting even more frustrating week after week ...,” said David Beckham, whose crosses into the box provided a good deal of the dozen decent opportunities the Galaxy found and quickly lost. “We keep saying we're not worried about it. It's got to come a point where we need to be worried about it, and we're close to that now.”

Joel Lindpere scored the goal for New York, striding through an open expanse and into the Galaxy box to collect a short pass from Jan Gunnar Solli and fire into the right-side netting. It was all that was required for the Red Bulls, who were missing six regulars -- injured Thierry Henry and Teemu Tainio and suspended Rafa Marquez the headliners -- and employed the expected tactics.

There wasn't a whole lot of space for L.A. to operate, and the sharpness needed to break down New York's 4-1-4-1 alignment wasn't forthcoming. The rookie Meara did well to repel an Edson Buddle header at the start, a Mike Magee shot to begin the second half, a tremendous Juninho blast in the 82nd minute and Landon Donovan's reflex shot from 12 yards in the 86th.

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CARSON -- A week ago the Galaxy were feeling pretty good about their progress following a poor start to their season while anticipating a three-game winning streak, proof of sorts that all was good.

After failing to win their third in a row, rallying in stoppage last weekend to tie visiting FC Dallas, and falling, 2-0, Wednesday at Seattle, they're looking for positive signs once more.

“There's no need to panic yet, but we want to get it sorted out as soon as possible,” said David Beckham, who is expected to return to L.A.'s lineup for Saturday night's showdown the New York Red Bulls at Home Depot Center. “We can't continue going into games and going through the motions and not doing things right on the field, because it shows. When you don't get results, that's what you look for -- it's the simple things that we're not doing right. I don't think we need to start panicking too much, but it needs to start happening pretty soon.”

The Red Bulls, which has become a rival of sorts since joining L.A. as a big-money club bringing in big-name Designated Players, could provide the perfect balm. They're missing a half-dozen starters -- including DPs Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez -- to injury or suspension.

“You can perform two, three, perhaps maximum four games when your without six of seven regular players,” Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said, “but then you will drop a little bit.”

The Galaxy hopes that drop arrives now. They don't expect that will be so.

“Sometimes that's a good thing [to be missing starters],” Beckham offered. “Sometimes players who have not played games come in and want to prove themselves, and it's a tougher game.”

It's certainly not the marquee matchup everyone expected in the teams' only regular-season meeting this year. Henry has been a clear-cut MVP favorite, scoring nine goals -- a good many of them sensational -- before going down last week with a hamstring injury that could sideline him for a month. Marquez is serving the last game in a three-match suspension for breaking San Jose midfielder Shea Salinas' clavicle with a football-style tackle followed by a kick three weeks ago.

Holding midfielder Teemu Tainio is out because of a sprained knee, and three first-choice defenders -- Wilman Conde, Roy Miller and Stephen Keel -- are dealing with a variety of ailments.

The Galaxy is looking for something elusive, the sense that things will be right no matter who they throw on the field and what competition they come up against. That swagger, built primarily through defensive dominance now absent with Omar Gonzalez out, was behind last year's run to the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup triumphs.

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No David Beckham. No Robbie Keane. No Todd Dunivant. No Josh Saunders. Two more starters on the bench. Only two first-team players in their favored spots.

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena sure did rotate his lineup for Wednesday night's Major League Soccer showdown in Seattle, and it showed. L.A. never really challenged the Sounders in a 2-0 defeat, struggling to get a grip on CenturyLink Field's artificial surface and paying a heavy price for some rather passive defending.

Eddie Johnson scored on a header just before halftime and Fredy Montero sent a 35-yard riser into the upper-left corner at the start of the second half as Seattle (5-1-1) beat the Galaxy for the first time at home in MLS play before a full house of 39,002, second-best in the league this year.

“Give Seattle credit. In a span of about eight minutes, we lost the game,” Arena told media in Seattle after the game. “We would have liked to go into halftime even and put a little pressure on them after the half, but we weren’t able to do it. ... We technically weren't good. Our guys struggled on the turf to get any kind of crosses in front of the goal. We weren't able to get any shots on the fame. It results in us not really being able to test their goalkeeper.”

The Galaxy (3-4-1), who didn't drop their fourth game last year until October, were playing the second of a three-games-in-eight-days set, and Arena -- mindful of the hated turf -- left home over-30s Beckham, Keane and Dunivant in advance of Saturday's game at Home Depot Center against New York. Saunders is missing for “personal reasons,” reportedly a stint in MLS's substance abuse treatment program.

Mike Magee and Edson Buddle started on the bench, Sean Franklin moved into midfield, Marcelo Sarvas took Beckham's spot, and Arena gave rookie Bryan Gaul his MLS debut at left back, with right back Bryan Jordan and striker Adam Cristman making their first starts of the year. Bill Gaudette was back in the nets with another superb showing.

“I think it's a difficult week with the travel and playing on this surface,” Arena said. “We wanted to keep some players fresh for the game on Saturday. That’s the decision I made. We didn’t think we were going to be able to play eleven players in three games, and we had to rotate some players. It made sense to me to have those players available on Saturday.”

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The best team in Major League Soccer since the start of the 2009 season is the Galaxy. No. 2 is Seattle. They're consistently the best teams on the field -- they finished 1-2 in the Supporters' Shield standings last year -- and the organization set the standards off the field, too.

There's been one huge showdown -- to open the 2010 playoffs, a two-game Galaxy sweep -- and one the towering presence of Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid, who is soccer royalty in these parts after winning championships at UCLA and with the Galaxy. He's the only man with more MLS regular-season wins (161) than L.A. boss Bruce Arena (131).

Best talent in MLS: Galaxy, right? Except Seattle might have more.

It's a great and growing rivalry, or so the Sounders and their fans would have you believe, and close to 40,000 will be on hand to lend the appropriate atmosphere for Wednesday night's showdown at CenturyLink Field.

“It's a big game for us,” Sounders goalkeeper Michael Gspurning told his team's website this week. “Especially because L.A. is the champion. Wednesday is a big test for us. Everybody is 100 percent motivated -- maybe even a bit more.”

The Galaxy (3-3-1) understand the importance, too -- big crowd, great opponent, possible six-point swing in the Western Conference's numbers count -- but do they consider the Sounders (4-1-1) to be a rival?

“I think we've developed a lot of rivalries in this league,” said midfielder Mike Magee. “I wouldn't say it's one of the bigger ones -- not to the level of us and Chivas [USA] -- but we've definitely had some heated matches. Felt at times they've had some choice words for our team. That's a hard place to play. When we go there, they definitely step up their level.”

Chivas is the big rival, taking over from the San Jose Earthquakes once it started competing for real in its second season, in 2006, but there are other games that elicit stronger feelings, owing if not to geography, then to a shared past. Or something else.

“I think every game we play in the league is a rivalry game ...,” Arena said. “What are you going to ask me on Thursday: 'Is [weekend opponent] New York a rival?' ”

Well, the Red Bulls are, sort of -- two biggest markets, all the Designated Players on both rosters, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez's venom for Landon Donovan. It's a newer one, perhaps, falling into line after the Clasico with hated Chivas, the California Clasico with the Quakes (dismissingly called “Smurfs” by L.A. faithful) and perhaps stepping in front of the old rivalry with D.C. United, forged through two title-game meetings in MLS's the first four seasons.

“I don't buy into any of it,” Arena said. “I do think Chivas -- a team in the same facility, in the same community ... to me, we'd have a hard time arguing whether that's [not] a rivalry. All the others? They're all to different degrees rivalries. I think every club in the league, it's a rival.”

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CARSON -- The Galaxy play the second of three games in eight days Wednesday night at Seattle -- a showdown of two of Major League Soccer's most competitive organizations (Real Salt Lake being the third) -- and head coach Bruce Arena, wary of overuse (and CenturyLink Field's artificial surface) is likely to rotate his lineup.

Among the missing could be David Beckham, who doesn't do well on the fake stuff and rarely plays all three matches in these type of spans, and Robbie Keane. Neither trained Monday, with Arena saying he was “just giving them an opportunity to rest a few nagging injuries.”

Captain Landon Donovan expects there to be some changes.

“Given Bruce's history, yeah,” he said. “But you never know. Sometimes you just push through and play guys. It's early in the season, so there's still a lot of energy, but we'll see.”

The Galaxy has plenty of experience playing three in eight or three or nine. They did so seven or eight or nine times last year, depending on how you keep count -- they had 10 games in 29 days during September into October -- and went 11-6-4 in these games, a few CONCACAF Champions League group contests included.

They opened this season with three in eight days, losing their Champions League quarterfinal series to Toronto FC and MLS opener to Real Salt Lake, and Arena afterward acknowledged it would have been smarter to rotate his lineup after using virtually the same group for all three.

Sigi Schmid is dealing with similar concerns for Seattle. The Sounders are playing their second of five games in 15 days.

The turf is a concern, although it's new turf, installed during the offseason to replace one of the league most-hated surfaces. “I haven't heard anything,” said forward Pat Noonan, who spent the past two seasons with the Sounders, “but I know it can't be worse than last year. It was beaten pretty good last year. I'm sure it's an upgrade.”

Artificial turf is artificial turf, Arena says.

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CARSON -- The Galaxy are living and dying from the penalty spot these days, and after the turn of events early in the second half Saturday night, it didn't look as if there was a whole lot of life in them.

Ah, appearances can be deceiving.

Pat Noonan netted a huge first goal with L.A., finishing a stoppage-time scramble in FC Dallas' box to deliver a 1-1 draw in an often invigorating clash that was otherwise defined by Bill Gaudette's fine play in the nets and a pair of penalty kicks that looked certain to doom the Galaxy to another home defeat.

They instead pulled out a point with an ending that, if not enough to nail down a third successive victory, could be as galvanizing as Josh Saunders' penalty-kick stop to beat Colorado a week ago.

“We getting a goal in extra time, can't be complaining about the point,” said head coach Bruce Arena, who might have had reason to complain anyway. “It's that simple. We missed a penalty. We had some good chances during the game. There weren't a whole lot of chances in the game for either team, but we had enough to get ourselves two or three goals and didn't. ... The team plays that hard and gets a point at the end like that, I think that's a positive.”

Robbie Keane missed the penalty kick, with a chance to take the lead in the 49th minute, and Brek Shea converted from the spot 12 minutes later to provide Dallas an advantage that lasted almost to the finish. But Arena made smart substitutions -- Adam Cristman, Chad Barrett and Noonan, all of them second-half submissions, combined on the winning goal -- and L.A. (3-3-1) got more than they might have on a night in which they weren't quite crisp enough.

Gaudette, making his first-team debut for L.A., was outstanding in place of Saunders, who bowed out to deal with what the team called “personal matters.” The veteran keeper has a history at HDC -- he made his first MLS appearance here in 2005 for Columbus and two years ago helped the Puerto Rico Islanders to a 4-1 win over the Galaxy in the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round -- so when he saw his name on the board when he walked into the locker room Saturday afternoon, he was ready.

He made three huge saves -- diving to stop George John's quick deflection of a Daniel Hernandez free kick in the 18th minute, parrying Shea in the 21st and leaping to tip away a looping, off-balance Blas Perez header moments after Keane's miss -- but committed the foul that gave Shea the ball at the spot.

Most of the blame on that play goes to David Junior Lopes, making his third start since arriving in a trade from Chivas nearly three weeks ago. Lopes struggled with the ball at his feet the entire match and made several mistakes, none as debilitating as his poor attempt to chest the ball from a Jair Benitez cross back to Gaudette.

Perez raced past him to take possession, and Gaudette took him down. Shea's shot left Gaudette no chance.

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