So... Beckham is here. I've got my ticket.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great thing. It can only do good for MLS, even if he's a couple years past his prime. But with his June rejuvination, who knows? Maybe some really special things await us on the pitch. Hell, I broke down and scalped a pair of Galaxy tickets for September against Colorado (though I just realized that England is playing a Euro 2008 qualifier that same day... d'oh). Anyway, all that being said, I cannot help but completely agree with virtually everything expressed by Bill Plaschke in this morning's LA Times. The focus on Beckham's arrival has been about everything but soccer.

He is clearly showing up not as an athlete, but a celebrity. He is being chatted up not in sports bars, but star blogs. Folks are viewing him not as a leader of men, but as the husband of Posh.

Too true. When have you ever heard of a player in any team sport signing a contract six months before joining the team, when in fact the team he signed for has already been playing for three months before his arrival? The answer, obviously, is so that MLS could market the move while season tickets were still on sale. But that's the ploy of an icon, not a typical athlete. Becks probably could've arrived a month earlier if not for his surprising call up to the England squad, last month, where he excelled. So while most of Plaschke's editorial is pure truth, I still think this spot is pretty slick, if not completely self-indulgent, and I definitely plan on watching that match versus Chelsea. I do hold out hope that Beckham's play with the Galaxy -- limited though it may (read: will -- England are likely to recall him for September) be, boosts soccer in the States at least a little. It'll never be a "major" like MLB, the NBA, or the NFL, but the fan base is there to carry the sport upward.

Want to see real soccer, though? Be sure to catch the Copa America final, this Sunday, when Argentina waxes Brazil. Here's a solid piece comparing the two sides that also pretty well defines why a favored Argentina failed to win Germany '06.

One basketball gripe amid all this soccer talk. The Lakers welcomed an older Derek Fisher back into the fold. Listen, I understand that Fish is a veteran, understands the triangle, and has a great relationship with Kobe. I will always love him for hitting the 0.04 shot that killed the Spurs in 2004. But what am I -- a sharp critic of the Lakers' drafting abilities -- to make of Jordan Farmar (whom I actually like) and Javaris Crittendon? What is this triangle-oriented team doing with such a backlog of point guards, none of which they have faith in? Drafting Crittendon and a couple of future busts, signing Fisher... this isn't what Kobe was talking about when he said that changes need to be made. F*** you, Kupchak.

End of gripe.