If David Beckham does arrive in South Africa with England will he be able to do anything?

No player on the face of the globe has worked harder to ensure that he can be part of another World Cup party. Beckham is clearly a driven man, willing to play virtually non-stop for two years for the opportunity to carry the England banner in 2010.

Give him credit -- and we will be the first to admit that we have been more than occasionally skeptical -- because as the announcement of a renewed loan deal with AC Milan is made we have to say that he has made good on his promise to give MLS his attention since his controversial return in July. Landon Donovan is the MVP candidate from the LA Galaxy and coach Bruce Arena deserves the plaudits for holding things together over the first (the non-Beckham) half of the season, but since the England man returned the Galaxy has often been pretty good.

We'll be interested to see how much is left when Becks returns to the San Siro, to say nothing of whether he can be a major player for Fabio Capello, Further down the road, will there be any gas in the tank for another LA comeback late next summer?
One thing works in Beckham's favor: he may still be a major player at MLS level but he is a role player in Milan and with England.
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MLS has some nicely-balanced second leg matches. One can only hope the fact that every game hangs in balance will improve attendances for the first round finishes.
The returns start Thursday night with Columbus starting a goal down against RSL in Crew Stadium. First, Columbus must make sure to keep it tight over the first 15 minutes to avoid getting into a 2-0 aggregate hole. After that, the Crew should begin to assert itself.

Saturday we've got the Fire vs. Revolution game on Fox Soccer Channel with New England leading, 2-1. Another chance to see the Rev's MVP candidate Shalrie Joseph and a challenge for a Chicago team which has not played to expectations over the second half.

Sunday Houston hosts Seattle starting 0-0. You have to root for Seattle because an MLS Cup in their home stadium will be rockin' if the Sounders can get there. This one offers two of the best mentors in the league, Sigi Schmid and under-appreciated Dominic Kinnear.

The Sunday finale is the so-called "superclassico" and it also begins on level terms after a four-goal, 2-2 first leg. This is the game where Donovan and Beckham have to produce the goods.
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We gave you the rundown for today's Champions League matches yesterday. Here's the TV lineup one more time:

The schedule (all kicks at 14:45 Eastern Standard)
Group A
Bayern Munchen vs. Bordeaux, DTV 462; Maccabi Haifa vs. Juventus, DTV 463
Group B
Manchester United vs. CSKA Moscow, Setanta; Besiktas vs. Wolfsburg, DTV 464
Group C
AC Milan vs. Real Madrid, Fox Espanol/Fox RSNs; Marseille vs. FC Zurich, 465
Group D
APOEL Nicosia vs. FC Porto, DTV 466; Atletico Madrid vs. Chelsea, Fox Soccer Channel, DTV 467

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