Week 13

In our weekly peek around the league: David Beckham becomas a Saint, Chivas USA work their Cuban connection and the trades just keep coming.

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New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol will be at the helm of the MLS All-Star team when they go up against Scottish powerhouse Celtic on July 19th. The Scotsman earned the honor because his team has the highest points-per-game total (1.83) in the league through games of June 25th.

Nicol, who has guided his team to back-to-back MLS Cup appearances, narrowly beat out former US coach Bruce Arena (New York Red Bulls) and first-year head coach Curt Onalfo (Kansas City Wizards) for the distinction.

The MLS All-Star First XI will be unveiled on July 5th, with Nicol's staff to select five more players on July 10th to go with two Commissioner's picks, making up the 18-man roster. The game will be held at brand-new Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, home of the Rapids.

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Toronto FC's wheeling and dealing continues with a pair of moves this week. On Monday, TFC announced a trade with the New York Red Bulls, sending Kevin Goldthwaite to the Big Apple in exchange for Todd Dunivant. Both left backs, the move could help the Red Bulls' attempt to clear space under the salary cap to sign a central defender.

Toronto has also reached an agreement with Collin Samuel, a left-sided player from Trinidad & Tobago. Samuel reportedly inked a three-year deal with Mo Johnston's club, making the move after his contract with Scottish club Dundee United expired.

The 25-year old striker was a starter in T&T's upset draw with Sweden in the 2006 World Cup and has scored five goals in 22 appearances for the Soca Warriors.

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David Beckham not withstanding, Alexi Lalas clearly does not like blondes. Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Galaxy general manager opted to trade Santino Quaranta to the Wizards in exchange for a draft pick in 2008. Quaranta, who recently switched to the all-blonde look, will be joining ex-Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and his yellow locks in Kansas City.

Acquired from DC United under a year ago, Quaranta scored the game-winning goal in his first appearance for the Galaxy, a 1-0 victory over Houston last August. Since then, things have gone downhill - Santino appeared to have worn out his welcome when he showed up for the preseason out of shape and after six goalless appearances in 2007, he's on his way out, taking his $100,000 salary with him.

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Prior to joining the Los Angeles Galaxy later this summer, David Beckham will throw on a helmet and shoulder-pads as part of an adidas marketing campaign titled "Futbol Meets Football". The ad features Becks and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush switching places and trying their hand at each other's respective sports.

adidas, a main sponsor of Major League Soccer, is planning three ads in total featuring Beckham as the company celebrates its long-time association with the iconic footballer and his landmark move to the United States. The ad can be viewed at www.futbolmeetsfootball.com beginning this week.

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After striking gold by signing Cuban defector Maykel Galindo, Chivas USA is hoping to find similar success by offering trials to midfielder Osvaldo Alonso and striker Lester More, two members of the Cuba national team who defected while inside the US for the 2007 Gold Cup.

Alonso and More went missing prior to Cuba's first game of the tournament, while the rest of the team went on to be eliminated after compiling a disappointing 0-2-1 record that placed them last in Group C.

According to Andrea Canales at LA Soccer News, Chivas USA CEO Javier Leon was persuaded to give the players a trial as a result of Galindo's favorable description of the duo. Galindo, signed prior to the 2007 season, has registered six goals and three assists this season to lead the club in both categories.

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Houston Dynamo defender Brad Davis has been named MLS Player of the Week after recording a hat trick against Chivas USA in a 4-0 dismantling last Thursday night. Davis had been losing playing time on the left side to rookie Corey Ashe, but exploded offensively to lead Houston to a fourth straight victory.

This marks the second time in Davis' career that the honor has been bestowed on him - the first coming in Week 17 of the 2004 season, when he was a member of the Dallas Burn.

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Television ratings for the Gold Cup final are in and they provide evidence that soccer has moved in front of ice hockey in terms of popularity in the United States, at least among Hispanics. The game received a 2.5 fast national rating on Univision, translating into 2.83 million households. That doesn't take into account viewers of the English telecast on Fox Soccer Channel, which isn't rated, but is available in 30 million households.

To compare, when Anaheim defeated Ottawa to win the Stanley Cup on June 6th, the game only received a 1.8 rating, or 2,005,000 households - 41% less than were tuned in to the Gold Cup.

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According to AYL Soccer, Real Salt Lake is expected to announce the appointment of Robin Fraser to the position of assistant coach as early as this week. Fraser was the fourth overall draft pick in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, played in the league from 1996-2005 and is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in league history.

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Nominations for the ESPY Awards have been announced and four league veterans are vying for the Best MLS Player Award. Los Angeles Galaxy and USMNT attacker Landon Donovan joins Jeff Cunningham (Toronto FC), Matt Reis (New England Revolution) and Christian Gomez (DC United) as nominees for the award. The 15th Annual Espy Awards will be held at Hollywood's Kodak Theater on Wednesday, July 11th, and will air on ESPN on Sunday, July 15th at 9:00 pm ET.