Week 23
In our weekly peek around the league: Alexi Lalas shoots down Beckham rumours, the new Fire man recalls his odd English lessons and the Golden Boot sets up for a photo finish.

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The New England Revolution have signed Gambian midfielder Sainey Nyassi to a contract. Nyassi, 18, starting all four of the country's Under-20 World Cup games, helping them advance to the knockout stages before eventually losing to Austria.

One player who will not be joining the Revs this fall is defender Dusan Petkovic. The former Serbia international had been training with Steve Nicol's club, but suffered a calf strain in just his second practice session, forcing New England to look elsewhere.

"We saw him for 15 minutes before he got injured," Nicol told the Boston Globe. "With the (dollar) figures involved, we thought it was not worth the gamble. He could be out 10 days or four weeks."

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David Beckham will not be returning to England on loan after the current MLS season ends in November. Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas, commenting on recent rumors in British tabloids, told reporters, "We would not consider it. Any talk of loans and transfers and all that kind of stuff is pure speculation and rumor and not something we have even discussed let alone entertained."

Out for six weeks after spraining his right MCL, Beckham was recently linked in the European media with a loan move to Spain, Italy, or even back to England. Lalas insisted that it will not happen under his watch, going on to say, "Once the season is over, he and all of our players need to get a physical and mental rest, and really be given the opportunity to decompress and evaluate the experience they have gone through."

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Recently acquired Chivas USA midfielder Ramon Nunez has been called up by Honduras for a pair of upcoming friendlies on the East Coast. The Dallas, Texas native will join the team for a September 9th clash against Costa Rica in Boston and a tilt against Ecuador in San Pedro Sula, Honduras three days later. He should return in time to play in the final installment of the 2007 SuperClasico against the Galaxy on September 13th.

Also called into camp for Honduras was Galaxy forward Carlos Pavon. The 33-year old had a memorable four-goal game for Los Catrachos against Cuba in the 2007 Gold Cup.

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While three players are currently tied for the league-lead with 14 goals scored this season, New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel appears to have a leg up on his competition for the Golden Boot - the former Aston Villa star is finding the back of the net, on average, every 106 minutes. In comparison, Kansas City's Eddie Johnson averages a goal every 114 minutes and DC's Luciano Emilio takes slightly longer at 123 minutes per goal.

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The newest signing of the Chicago Fire, Colombian defender Wilman Conde, admits that he learned English from an unconventional source. "I would play Zelda and role playing games - Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy," he told the Chicago Tribune. "I was about 15 or 16 and would have a dictionary right next to me. It took a lot of patience."

The Fire recently paid a $300,000 transfer fee for the rights to the defender, who had been playing for Chicago head coach Juan Carlos Osorio's old club Millonarios in Colombia. Conde is still awaiting his visa, and will miss out Saturday when the Fire take on the New York Red Bulls.

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DC United's Troy Perkins has been named MLS Player of the Month for August. The fourth-year goalkeeper was stellar in helping United to a 5-0-0 record in the month, allowing only a penalty kick goal against the New York Red Bulls en route to a 0.20 GAA over that span.

Last year's Goalkeeper of the Year, Perkins has recorded seven shutouts on the season and boasts a 1.00 goals against average, third-best in the league. His 13 wins put him at the top of the heap in that category, one in front of New England's Matt Reis.

Perkins isn't the only United member to be honored recently, with Ben Olsen named as MLS Player of the Week for Week 22. Olsen scored twice early in DC's 4-0 romp over FC Dallas this past weekend, bringing his goal total to seven on the season. It is the fifth time a DC United member has earned POW nobility - twice for Olsen, twice for forward Luciano Emilio and once for Nicolas Addlery.

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Real Salt Lake failed in their attempt to sign Jay-Jay Okocha, confirmed by the announcement of the former Nigeria international's signing with Hull City. After spending 2006 with Qatar SC, Okocha had been courted by Australia's Sydney FC and RSL before opting to return to England with the Tigers, who play their games in the Championship.

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Galaxy star Landon Donovan, in Chicago ahead of Sunday's friendly against Brazil, will be throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before Wednesday's Cubs-Dodgers game. He will be joined on the field by Carlos Bocanegra, Bobby Convey and Steve Cherundolo.

Here's hoping Donovan's throw will be a little more convincing than that of Victoria Beckham, who also threw out the first pitch at a Dodgers game back in Los Angeles in early June.

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It will be an all-MLS final in the US Open Cup, as the New England Revolution and FC Dallas both survived scares from USL teams on Tuesday night to advance.

In semifinal action, New England fell behind the Carolina RailHawks early before getting goals from Jeff Larentowicz and Pat Noonan to eliminate the USL First Division team 2-1. Meanwhile, a goal from Carlos Ruiz and a penalty kick by Abe Thompson were just enough to power FC Dallas past the Seattle Sounders, also by a 2-1 score.

Dallas will host the final against New England on October 3rd. The two clubs will also meet in MLS play on September 15th, with New England holding the season series advantage after a late April 1-0 victory over the Hoops.