Comedian Drew Carey long ago cut his ties with the Los Angeles Galaxy and now is a co-owner of Seattle Sounders FC, but he remains a Galaxy season ticketholder and maintains a luxury box at The Home Depot Center.
Carey attended the recent playoff game between the Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo in Carson and called it an unusual experience, to say the least.
"It was weird," he said about his return to southern California. "Before I used to really root for them. now I just want it to be a good game. They're dead to me now," he went on with a laugh.
"I've moved on from that relationship. Honestly, it's like seeing an old girlfriend you're on nodding terms with. If you have an ex-wife you still see because of the kids or an old girlfriend. It's like that ... 'Hey, how you doing? No hard feelings.'"
Carey does express some remorse that the Galaxy didn't launch its stunning reversal this season before he became involved with the Sounders FC ownership group.
"I was really hoping last season," he said. "It was like, 'This is the last season I'm able to root for the Galaxy and get away with it.' And they had the worst year. I couldn't imagine it going any more badly or them.
"It's nice to see the team make a turnaround like that; it's a good success story in MLS. But I've already moved on to Seattle. I'm glad L.A. was able to turn it around, but it was a year or two too late for me."
DUNIVANT'S LONG ROAD BACK: Given the depths to which Los Angeles had sunk in recent years, 2009 has been a bounce-back season for many of their players. But one of the longer roads traveled was that of defender Todd Dunivant.
Last year while with Toronto, Dunivant suffered a broken ankle and missed most of the season as a result. But in addition to the fracture, Dunivant also sustained cartilage damage that required surgery.
"[The doctors] were telling me 'career-ending' kind of stuff," said Dunivant. "You never want to believe it and I never did for a second.
"Those were some lonely months when you're in the gym by yourself. But I had a great training staff in Toronto, and that carried over here in Los Angeles. They did a great job on my ankle. It means a lot [to come back]. ... It feels great. It's 100 percent now."
Dunivant recovered to deliver a solid season and while his attentions will be focused primarily on stopping RSL's potent attack, his forays into the attacking half will also be an important weapon for the Galaxy.
TURF TIMES: Both L.A. and RSL play on natural grass surfaces at their respective home stadiums, and with Sunday's game at Qwest Field being played on artificial turf, the two teams have spent the last two days getting themselves acclimated. So exactly how does a player need to change his game in order to compensate?
"You have to play to feet more. On turf [the ball] runs away from you," said Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein. "There are advantages too. You can shoot more and the ball is going to get that skip off the turf."
L.A. goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts knows this all too well.
"[The turf] is quicker, especially if it rains," said L.A. goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. "The ball just moves like lightning. We'll have to watch out for that. You know what you're going to get. The bounce is always even, so maybe that's a positive."
CONRAD'S CHOICE: Kansas City Wizards and U.S. national team defender Jimmy Conrad was in town for the MLS Cup events. Saturday the 2009 U.S. Soccer Foundation/MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year took part in Seattle's Clean & Green event, working to beautify neighborhoods throughout the city.
Conrad said as a player, he is pleased to see how Seattle has embraced Sounders FC.
"Everywhere you go, you see the Sounders colors. It's always Sounders, Sounders, Sounders," Conrad said. "I'm a little bit jealous. For them to host the premiere event is fitting."
When asked for a prediction, Conrad said it was a bit of a toss-up.
"The Galaxy is the fashionable choice," Conrad said. "If you look at them on paper, they should win. But Real Salt Lake also has a good chance. They're playing hot right now. Both teams deserve to be here. Either way, it should be a great game."
Larry Morgan and Jeff Carlisle are contributors to MLSnet.com.
