SPORTS NOTES EXTRA - BECKHAM SAYS LATER TO GALAXY

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

Playing at Milan with superstars such as KaKa and Ronaldinho will certainly enhance his chances of being prepared for World Cup and national team competition. - United Football League Announces Former NFL Coaches Jim Fassel, Dennis Green, Jim Haslett & Ted Cottrell as Head Coaches for “UFL Premiere” Season - FIFA TOP 10

Saturday March 21, 2009

BYE BYE HOLLYWEIRD

As the saying goes the bloom is off the rose and for David Beckham playing some serious football is more important than hanging out with the Hollyweird Beautiful People. He came to realize that Hollyweird and all of its celebrities and parties won't help him qualify for the England national team and his hopes of playing in the 2110 World Cup.

The Spice Man was serious enough to pay part of the fee to enable his now part time role with the Galaxy and his preference to play out the remainder of the season with A.C. Milan. When he returns to the Galaxy in July for the remaining 13 games of the second half of the MLS season the major point will be that he stay injury free, complete his obligations to the Galaxy where he has the option to terminate his deal return to Milan and get into form enough to be chosen for England World Cup squad at the then ripe old age of 35.

After this season the Galaxy and coach Bruce Arena are hopeful that Beckham will return for the remaining two years on his contract and option out of his deal The reality being is that at this point that is unlikely.

Beckham has an opt-out clause which allows him to leave the Galaxy at the end of the 2009 season. When he signed the deal with the Galaxy it was reported to be for five years worth $250 million over the term or $50 million a year. Since that time it has been revealed that the deal was not all cash but he is now earning the leagues top salary at $6.5 million which is far above the league average $147,945.

Though his term with LA wasn't as productive as hoped he did make some noise in bringing more attention to the sport in the US as well as increase the sale of MLS merchandise. In his first year with the club he arrived injured. He went on to register no goals and two assists as the Galaxy finished with a 9-14-7 record that was third-worst in the league. Last season, Beckham had five goals and 10 assists and the Galaxy's 8-13-9 record tied for the worst in MLS.

Playing at Milan with superstars such as KaKa and Ronaldinho will certainly enhance his chances of being prepared for World Cup and national team competition. AC Milan's offer of a reported $1.5 million to the Galaxy to keep the player wasn't enough according to Tim Leiweke, president of Galaxy parent AEG. Now that Beckham has taken control of his life that has all changed.

His departure will be bad news for the Galaxy and the MLS but Beckham has stated that he would like to own a MLS franchise and intends to pursue that goal when his playing career is over.

When he signed the deal with the Galaxy there was talk of him trying his hand at acting. He now feels that he is too stiff. Some trivia is that Beckham never appeared in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham, except in archive footage. He and his wife Posh/Victoria wanted to make cameo appearances but scheduling proved difficult, so the director used look-alikes instead.

Beckham did make a cameo appearance with Zidane and Raúl, in the 2005 film Goal! The Dream Begins. Actor Andy Harmer played Beckham in Bend It Like Beckham. He also appeared in one party scene as Beckham as well as appearing in the sequel Goal! 2: Living the Dream when the film's lead character gets transferred to Real Madrid. That film centered on the Real Madrid team. Besides Beckham, other real life Real Madrid players also appeared on and off the pitch, alongside the fictional characters. Beckham also will appear in Goal! 3, scheduled for release in 2009. But as far as Hollyweid is concerned Beckham is saying LATER…

THE BECKHAM MANIA GOES ON

TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the best man for David Beckham and Victoria (Posh Spice) Adams wedding in 1999?

TRIVIA ANSWER:

Then Manchester United teammate Gary Neville

MORE BECKHAM TRIVIA:

Who are the godfather and godmother of the Beckham's children Brooklyn and Romeo?

ANSWER:

Elton John and actress Elizabeth Hurley

The United Football League, a new professional outdoor football league, announced four former standout NFL coaches as the league’s first head coaches for its “Premiere” season this morning at a press conference in San Francisco. The League also announced the San Francisco franchise will play its home games at AT&T Park.

UFL Founder Bill Hambrecht, UFL Investor Paul Pelosi and UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue were on hand to introduce the newest members of the UFL team. All four of the newly announced coaches have impressive coaching pedigrees having worked in both the NFL and collegiate ranks.

“When seeking coaches for the UFL we set out to find the most outstanding individuals to lead our teams,” said Commissioner Michael Huyghue. “We sought leaders with successful NFL backgrounds, who were excellent communicators and teachers of the game and were excited about building new franchises. We were fortunate to find four individuals who embody these attributes. These men are truly winners in every sense of the word.”

Former NFL head coach Dennis Green joins the UFL as Head Coach of the San Francisco franchise. Green amassed a regular season record of 113 – 94 as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals. His best season as Head Coach was in 1998; leading the Vikings to an amazing 15-1 season and setting the NFL record for most points in a season (since broken by the 2007 New England Patriots). Green was an Assistant Coach for Bill Walsh at both Stanford and at the San Francisco 49ers, where he held this post for four seasons, earning a Super Bowl ring in 1988-89.

The 1997 NFL Coach of the Year, Jim Fassel, joins the UFL as Head Coach of the Las Vegas franchise. While head coach of the New York Giants, Fassel received acclaim for his playoff guarantee in the 2000 season and led the Giants to an improbable Super Bowl appearance. Fassel, most recently, was the color commentator on NFL game broadcasts for the Westwood One Radio Network and also served as a color analyst on ESPN.

The 2000 NFL Head Coach of the Year, Jim Haslett, joins the UFL as Head Coach of the Orlando franchise. Haslett received top honors in 2000 after guiding the New Orleans Saints to a 10-6 regular season record, its second NFC West Division Championship and its first playoff victory in franchise history.

Former NFL executive and professional coach with over two decades of NFL experience Ted Cottrell joins the UFL as Head Coach of the New York franchise. Cottrell led the defense for several successful teams including the San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. As the defensive coordinator for the Chargers during the 2007 season, his squad led the NFL in takeaways (48), interceptions (30) and passing rating defense (70.0) -- the first time a Chargers team ever led in these categories. As Minnesota’s defensive coordinator in 2005, Cottrell led the Vikings to fifth place finish in takeaways and earned a postseason berth.

In its “Premiere” year, the UFL will host teams in Las Vegas, New York, Orlando and San Francisco. There are also plans to play additional games in Hartford and Los Angeles. The season will culminate with a Championship Game tentatively scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas. AT&T Park is the first stadium announced for the UFL’s “Premiere” season. League officials are in final negotiations with the other stadiums and these agreements will be announced as they are completed. The UFL previously announced that VERSUS, a national sports network in more than 75 millions homes, will dedicate over three hours weekly for a live national HD broadcast of UFL games airing primarily on Thursday evenings.

The UFL was developed to fulfill the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players. The UFL will serve the communities with pride, dedication and passion, and uphold a leadership role in the development of football worldwide. The UFL will provide every fan with an affordable, accessible, exciting and entertaining game experience. Scheduled to debut in October 2009, the UFL’s headquarters is in New York, N.Y. and has satellite offices in Jacksonville, Fla. and Rutherford, N.J. The UFL is led by Commissioner Michael Huyghue, COO Frank Vuono and is being funded by a consortium of investors including UFL Founder Bill Hambrecht, Tim Armstrong and Paul Pelosi. For more information on the UFL and how to purchase tickets for the “UFL Premiere” season, please visit www.ufl-football.com.

NATIONAL RADIO PUBLISHED IN 5 LANGUAGES

National Radio text is published in five languages, English, Thai, French, Russian and Khmer (Cambodian language). Any of our foreign language material and our Roman Wanderaugh columns is legally available ONLY on our National Radio site. Our sports, entertainment and feature programming has been broadcast on over 1000 radio stations.