The Beckham Bounce

Count me among those who think Beckham to MLS is a good thing. Mostly because it comes on the heels of a really good year for soccer in America -- U.S. performance in the World Cup notwithstanding -- and will likely amplify the effects of a bunch of other, smaller positive developments like the new TV deals, new stadiums and youth programs.

To run the analogy into the ground, the biggest concern when you amplify a signal is that your signal is strong enough to not sound like crap at that louder volume. That, obviously, is the challenge. MLS has been able to toil in relative obscurity for a while, even with the attention drawn by the likes of Freddie Adu, but now the league had damn well better be ready for its close-up.

Two of the biggest winners from this move, if you don't count Posh Spice for the boost to her line of credit and proximity to Rodeo Drive shopping, have to be ESPN and former Fire forward Nate Jaqua. ESPN could get a big bang for its buck with regard to the recently-inked deal for TV rights. If Beckham had been in the fold already, could MLS gotten more money from the network? Maybe, but he wasn't and they didn't, so it's probably not worth second-guessing.

As for Jaqua, he's much stronger in the air than his detractors would ever give him credit for, and he'll get the opportunity of a lifetime to prove it. I expect at least ten goals out of the striker this season, even with Becks only there for half. The other part of Jaqua's game that gets overlooked is being able to dish off balls into the box to his teammates, typically by way of a knockdown with his shoulder. So look for Landon Donovan to pick up some opportunities from this route, much in the way Chris Rolfe would on the few occasions where Rolfe and Jaqua actually got to play together up top in Chicago.

For the Galaxy, they're defense still doesn't really inspire much confidence, so we'll have to see if they've now acquired enough firepower to shoot themselves out of holes.