What's next for Becks, U.S. and more in the Mailbag

David Beckham's injury will likely keep him out of action for the remainder of the MLS season -- and that may be a good thing. Chris Williams/Icon SMI

MAILBAG Grant Wahl will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Lots on tap in the world of U.S. soccer: Beckham lessons, Women's World Cup, U.S.-Brazil men, MLS and Yanks Abroad. Let's dig in:

What about the rumor that David Beckham wants a winter loan [to a European team]? My view is, "Thanks, but no thanks." The Galaxy need a fresh player once the next MLS season rolls around. (Unless, of course, the loan is for $10-15 million.)
-- Daniel, Kansas City, Mo.

Alexi Lalas and Frank Yallop have been crying about their schedule. But who ultimately made the decision to schedule the Galaxy's games in this absurd way? Was it MLS? Was it AEG (which owns the Galaxy)?
-- Chris Ferris, Houston

First off, let's be clear: Beckham is not going on loan from the Galaxy this winter. He has not asked to be loaned, and the Galaxy have zero incentive to loan him anywhere. How did this nonsense gain traction over the past week? It started with a "story" in the Daily Express, a U.K. tabloid that makes the National Enquirer look like The New York Times.

But then, for reasons I still can't figure out, ESPN treated the story as a credible report on both Pardon the Interruption and on halftime of the MLS Game of the Week. And it spiraled from there. ESPN has been very good to soccer of late -- its channels are showing not one but two women's games live in HD as I write this -- but it was awfully naïve to fuel a non-story.

This Beckham loan talk also came up in the British tabs back in June, but when I asked 19 Entertainment head Simon Fuller (the guy who pulls the strings in Beckham's career), he said it wasn't part of Team Beckham's thought process. "That's never come up," Fuller said. "I haven't even thought about that. I don't know if it's even feasible or legal. It's not on our agenda."

What is on the agenda is for the Galaxy, Beckham and MLS to look ahead and draw some lessons from his all-too-short first campaign in MLS (which isn't likely to include another meaningful league game in 2007). To wit:

1. The Galaxy and England manager Steve McClaren need to be on the same page. It boggles the mind that a still gimpy-ankled Beckham played 90 minutes on consecutive days eight time zones apart for England (in a friendly, no less) and for the Galaxy.

L.A. coach Yallop and McClaren should have worked out a deal in which both men agreed to play Beckham for no more than 45 minutes. Yallop himself told me if he could do it again that conversation would have taken place. Whether McClaren has enough respect for the Galaxy to listen is another matter, but the Galaxy have to act like they deserves that respect.

2. The Galaxy's '08 schedule needs to make sense. And chances are it will, since MLS won't be trying to shoehorn a Beckham appearance in every MLS city into just a half-season like it did this year. Why did the Galaxy and MLS sign off on this season's foolish road odyssey? Simple: It was payback to the league's other teams for passing the so-called Beckham Rule in '06. (Remember, these teams are all in business together, and the Beckham Rule didn't pass the first time it came up for a vote in '05.)

The problem: Too many MLS teams freeloaded by refusing to pony up their own cash for Designated Players, and their insistence on a Beckham payday in the short term smacked of desperation.

Keep in mind, Beckham might also miss a significant chunk of '08 if England qualifies for the European Championship (June 7-29, 2008). Don't expect the Galaxy to be playing many games from late May to mid-June next year.

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