When will they learn? It seems Sampson requested that Donovan be released from the US squad for the Galaxy's "Big Game" next week against Real Madrid. However, even though the US play on Saturday and won't play again until Thursday, Bruce Arena rejected the idea.

US Team press officer Michael Kammarman explained...

"[The Gold Cup] is our regional championship. It makes no sense to have Landon flying back and forth across the country."

Um, you could have fooled me. Most people in the US don't even know it's going on. On top of that, there's a ton more media coverage in this country about the Real Madrid game than the entire Gold Cup.

But still, I guess the Galaxy (sorry, AEG) should have thought of that before they scheduled the match. Of course, as the stadium will be packed with people paying double the ticket price of other games, I'm sure they won't be too concerned.  ¶ 11:08 AM