Forward Luis Miguel Escalada might have scored a goal for Real Salt Lake, but otherwise, he did not impress enough to stay with the team.

The team has declined to pick up the option on the Argentine's contract, it announced today, meaning that Escalada is no longer with the club and RSL now has one roster spot available with the Major League Soccer transfer window opening on July 15.

The 23-year-old had played 126 minutes in five games with RSL after joining it before the season, but never threatened for more substantial playing time ahead of fellow strikers Yura Movsisyan, Robbie Findley and Fabian Espindola. Escalada's lone goal came late during a 6-0 victory over New England in April, when RSL showered the Revolution with goals in the second half. He started only one game.

No sooner has RSL constructed a promising four-game unbeaten streak than it will come up against another tough challenge — playing short-handed for much of the next month.

Although the team blasted Toronto over the weekend without midfielder Will Johnson (and Jean Alexandre), it will have to juggle the lineup to account for even more absences when it plays San Jose at Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday night. Not only has midfielder Kyle Beckerman been called away to play for the United States in the Gold Cup — that's the tournament for which Johnson and Alexandre already had been called away, preparing to play for their native Canada and Haiti, respectively — but midfielder Javier Morales is questionable with the ankle injury he suffered late in the game against Toronto.

If Morales can't play and injured striker Robbie Findley still isn't back from his sprained ankle, RSL could have some big holes to fill against the Earthquakes.

On the bright side, however, midfielder Andy Williams has elected not to join Jamaica for the Gold Cup so that he can remain with RSL and closer to his wife, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia in Seattle. And if Morales and Findley can't play this weekend, they figure to have plenty of time to get healthy before the next league game July 18. RSL has only an exhibition with Club America of Mexico in the 14 days between its league games.

Coach Jason Kreis often tends to downplay the importance of the formations that RSL plays, saying that mentality and intensity are more important than alignment.

Yet he does acknowledge that the 4-3-3 that the team has been using lately has helped its defense, and some of his players have said the alignment is playing a major role in their recovery from a disappointing winless stretch.

“It's beginning to suit our team even better than what we started out in at the beginning of the season,” midfielder Clint Mathis said. “We're definitely more organized. We're toughter to break down this way, and it's working for us.”

Striker Yura Movsisyan agreed, having scored twice in the last two games from the top of the formation.

“Right now, the formation is really working for us,” he said. “Sometimes the coaches they look at different options to see what they can do, and this is a combination that they've found that's helping us right now.

“We're attacking with the 4-3-3 and feel like we're attacking with more numbers,” he added. “It really helps you out when you have two wing guys that are really good with the ball, and then you have more space — I have more space up top. And whenever I'm off right, it's good, because I get to run at players. I get the goal in front of me, not behind me.”

Coach Jason Kreis is taking his players down to Houston a day earlier than usual today, for good reason.

The weather.

With temperatures expected to reach the mid-90's on Saturday with 60 to 70 percent humidity, the RSL boss wants to give his players a chance to acclimatize at least a little bit before meeting the Dynamo at Robertson Stadium — particularly because the weather will represent a “huge, huge change” from the unusually cool conditions that have prevailed in Utah this month.

“We realized we need to get down there and have a training session,” Kreis said.

RSL and the Ogden Outlaws of the USL Premier Development League will player their annual exhibition game at St. Joseph's High School in Ogden next Tuesday, the team has announced.

Kick-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., with tickets costing $8 for adults and $5 for kids under 18 years old.

Team officials are encouraging fans to bring lawn chairs and blankets so they can sit on the grass along the sidelines, since the bleachers typically fill up long before kickoff. Don't expect to see too many of the top RSL players for too long, though, since they will be recovering from their game at Houston this weekend and preparing for their next one at home against Toronto the following weekend.

Looks like striker Robbie Findley isn't going to be ready to return to the lineup, just yet.

The team's leading scorer probably won't make the trip to Houston, in fact, judging by his inability to work out with his teammates because of the sprained ankle he suffered against Colorado nearly two weeks ago. Findley spent another day watching from the sidelines during training today -- he has not practiced since suffering the injury -- and general manager Garth Lagerwey said he expected Findley would be ready next week.

On the bright side, though, RSL figures to have a full complement of defenders from which to choose for the first time in a while. Nobody is suspended for the upcoming game, and both Ian Joy and David Horst have returned from injuries and were included in the 18 last weekend -- though coach Jason Kreis acknowledged that Joy probably isn't quite ready to be considered for a start, until he regains match fitness.

Probably the most interesting lineup choice Kreis has to make is at outside back, with Robbie Russell back from suspension. Does Russell return to the starting lineup, or will Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran hold the spots that helped deliver the slump-breaking victory last weekend?

So, you're saying there's a chance ... ?

Indeed, there remains a possibility — albeit slight, you'd have to think — for Utah to entertain the World Cup if the United States wins its bid to play host to the event in either 2018 or 2022. That's because Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City has survived an initial cut of arenas hoping to hold some of the games, though LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo did not, after declining an invitation to be considered a candidate.

The U.S. Soccer bid committee has trimmed the list of potential venues in its proposal from 58 to 45 stadiums, and sent “requests for proposal” to the 37 cities in which the survivors are located, requesting information on everything from tourism and climate to security and transportation.

Thing is, Rice-Eccles Stadium is the smallest of the hopeful sites, seating barely 45,000 fans — and that probably doesn't light the eyes of the FIFA executives who dream of selling as many expensive tickets as possible, especially after giving the 2010 World Cup to South Africa, where six of the 10 stadiums will be about the size of Rice-Eccles or smaller. Plus, its artificial turf would have to be covered by a temporary grass field to win approval from the world governing body.

All of that figures to make the stadium a long shot for the bid committee, which has some of the biggest and best stadiums in the country among its prospects for the list of 12 to 18 that it will finally send to FIFA by May of next year.

But, hey ... it's not out of the running yet, and you can still keep your fingers crossed.

Maybe you noticed, goalkeeper Nick Rimando had his Lakers uniform working again, against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center over the weekend.

And it wasn't a coincidence.

“That was when we got our first road win last year, with that same color,” Rimando said, “so I figured I'd pull it out, and the Lakers were in the championship again, so it helped out a little bit.”

To be sure, the Southern California native didn't have his Laker regalia in quite full bloom, the way he did when RSL beat Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center last year.

In that game, in which RSL snapped a five-game road losing streak by beating Chivas 1-0 on June 14, Rimando wore a purple jersey and bright yellow shorts and socks. But in the 2-0 win over the Galaxy, in which RSL snapped a six-game road winless streak (with five losses), Rimando wore merely the purple jersey, with black shorts and yellow shoes.

Still, it worked.

Rimando made five outstanding saves — he made four against Chivas last year — and RSL stole the full three points on the road for the first time since last Sept. 27. The Lakers came out all right, too.

From the opening whistle, midfielder Will Johnson played like a man who'd found a new home as a defensive midfielder in RSL's 4-3-3 formation against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He took it even a step further.

“I feel like that was probably the best soccer game I've ever played,” he said after RSL finally earned its first road victory of the season by beating the Galaxy 2-0 at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night. “It was great, and I love playing in there. I love getting on the ball, guys love finding me with the ball, they're confident with it. I'll play wherever [coach Jason Kreis] wants me to play, but that seems like a good fit.”

It was the second straight game that Johnson has enjoyed a strong showing in that role, supporting the playmakers in the middle and the strikers who play out wide in the aggressive 4-3-3 formation — which Kreis said at last gives him two options in which he's confident, including the team's base 4-4-2 alignment.

“I feel that we finally, after a year and a half now, it's something the coaching staff has been wanting to be able to do for a long time, which is to change our shape, based on what the game needs. So finally I would say that now, we have two shapes that we play comfortably in, defend well out of and create enough chances out of.”

Defender Nat Borchers was happy to accept some good-natured teasing about finally scoring in Major League Soccer again, having not done so in a span of 76 games since Sept. 4, 2004, when he played for the Colorado Rapids.

“But I scored in Norway,” he said, laughing. “Nobody remembers that, of course. It hasn't been as long as everybody thinks.”

Borchers spent two seasons playing in Norway between his stints with the Rapids and RSL. But still, he played more than two full seasons between goals in MLS, and was elated to put back a loose ball from in front of the Galaxy net in the 51st minute at the Home Depot Center to help assure RSL's first road victory of the season on Saturday night.

“It's been a long time coming, he said. “I was just really happy to put that goal in give ourselves a cushion. I was very happy about that.”

Coaches were smiling, players were laughing and joking around ... finally, a sense of relief and fun had returned to the Real Salt Lake locker room last night, where players were following coach Jason Kreis' lead in proclaiming a fresh start to the rest of the season after their 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center.

“It all came together for us, finally, after so long,” Kreis said. “So I think it's a solid sign that perhaps we're back. I just told our guys in the locker room, 'Welcome back.'”

The team's first road victory of the season pushed RSL back into the thick of the Major League Soccer playoff chase with 15 points —just one fewer than last season at this time — and gave it a needed confidence boost after so many lost opportunities.

“It's immeasurable, at this moment,” Kreis said.

Everybody agreed, even though RSL played a Galaxy team that was lacking star Landon Donovan — though it was itself without leading scorer Robbie Findley and suspended defender Robbie Russell.

“It's huge,” defender Nat Borchers said. “I can't say enough about the job these guys did.” Added midfielder Will Johnson, who was gleefully dashing out of the locker room to go visit with his girlfriend: “We feel like we started over again. It's been a miserable stretch.”

The boys should be getting ready to check out their new airplane here, pretty soon.

RSL and JetBlue Airways are unveiling “Real Blue” — an aircraft in the JetBlue fleet painted with RSL colors and logos that the team and airline said is designed “to capture the energy, movement and excitement of Major League Soccer.” It's not a charter plane that the team will use exclusively, but the coaches, players and other officials are expected to take it to Los Angeles for their game against the Galaxy on Saturday.

“This is a partnership that puts Real Salt Lake shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the biggest brands in sports,” team owner Dave Checketts said in a statement. “For this club to have its name on JetBlue’s first-ever sports-branded plane provides a wonderful opportunity for us to be associated with a company that shares many of our same values – primarily, customer service and tremendous value – and affords us a unique platform that very few sports franchises enjoy.”

JetBlue became the "official" airline of the team and Rio Tinto Stadium earlier this year.

To celebrate, JetBlue is offering one-day sale fares between Salt Lake City and Long Beach/Los Angeles and New York. The fares to California are $49 each way, and as low as $99 each way to JFK International in New York. Flights must be booked by midnight tonight at www.jetblue.com, and travel must take place between June 23 and August 26.

“Real Salt Lake’s impact on the game and the diverse, brand-loyal and family-oriented fan demographic of Major League Soccer align well with JetBlue’s brand,” JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said. “We’re proud to debut our first sports-branded aircraft in the spirit of soccer, in a city that is home to more than 2,000 JetBlue Crewmembers.”

Coach Jason Kreis has guided RSL through exactly the same number of games now that former boss John Ellinger did before Kreis replaced him.

So, how do they stack up?

As you might imagine, Kreis holds an obvious edge in every category. Through the first 68 games in its history under Ellinger, RSL was 15-37-16 for 61 points (and no playoff appearances). In its next 68 games under Kreis, the team lost eight fewer games, improving to 19-29-20 for 77 points.

What's more, both the scoring and the defense have improved (despite the tough stretch the team is enduring), with the team scoring 85 goals and allowing 92 under Kreis after striking 77 times under Ellinger while allowing a whopping 122 goals. And don't forget that playoff run last season, either ...

We've detailed how little the partnership between RSL and Real Madrid has generated for the club and its fans the past couple of years, but suddenly, there's a whole new reason for wanting more.

Two reasons, really.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

Both of the last two FIFA World Players of the Year are set to join the Spanish giants, after Manchester United announced it has accepted a $131.6 million offer for Ronaldo just days after new club president Florentino Perez landed a $97 million deal to obtain Kaka from AC Milan.

Imagine having those two grace the field at Rio Tinto Stadium for an exhibition next summer. Here's betting that fans would pay a pretty premium for that privilege ...

By the way ... the trialist defender that RSL had in training last week unsurprisingly did not stick.

The 23-year-old Jamil Fearrington worked out with the team for several days, just as he had for D.C. United two years ago. But with no roster spots open, he did not show enough to displace any of the current players, and has moved on to a new trial with — wouldn't you know it? — the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Which brings us to the question tossed around practice quite a bit last week: How often do you see a trialist earn a spot on an MLS team, especially in the middle of the season?

It's not going to be easy for RSL, heading out onto the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo the next two weekends — an 18-game unbeaten streak, between them — but at least they'll catch a break.

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan and the Dynamo's Ricardo Clark both will miss the RSL games because they're playing for the United States national team in the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa and won't be back until the end of the month.

Meanwhile, RSL doesn't expect to lose any players to national-team duty until midfielders Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre potentially get the call for Canada and Haiti, respectively, for the Gold Cup in July. And coach Jason Kreis is just fine with that, not having to deal with so many call-ups, even though it also can be viewed as RSL not having enough players who are good enough to play at the top international level.

“I look at it as a good thing, completely,” he said. “National teams, you're talking about other coaches opinions, and frankly, I don't care. I only care about my coaches' opinions of players.”

And now, for the other side of the coin.

While RSL has allowed a tying or winning goal in the 85th minute or later a dozen times in its history, it actually has picked up points the same way more often than fans might realize. Eleven, in fact — not counting striker Yura Movsisyan's stunning goal in the playoffs last season.

So why do the setbacks seem to resonate more than the triumphs?

Is it because for so much of the time in RSL's history, the triumphs haven't made much difference to a foundering team? Is it because most of the painful setbacks have come at home, often on big occasions such as opening day or in front of big crowds? Or is there some other reason?

We'd love to know ...

While the rest of his teammates worked out today, striker Robbie Findley remained on the sideline in a jacket and knit cap, nursing an ankle injury.

Findley has not practiced this week, after suffering the injury in the home draw with the Colorado Rapids last weekend. Coach Jason Kreis is hopeful the striker can play on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, but said that at the moment, Findley is "not so great."

Kreis said that X-rays showed no broken bones in Findley's ankle, so "it's just going to be a pain thing, now." RSL still has yet to win on the road this season, while the Galaxy are riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and coming off a 2-0 victory at Toronto.

By my count, it's a dozen times now that RSL has done what it did against Colorado over the weekend — allow a tying or a winning goal in the 85th minute or later to leave points on the field.

And as frustrated fans know, it has been a consistent trend.

It happened twice in the inaugural season, three times the next year, twice in the season after that, three times last year and twice already this year. It has happened in April as easily as October (though June in the most popular month, and August and September have been safe). And, curiously, it seems to happen against mostly the same teams — four times against FC Dallas, three times against Colorado and twice against Chicago.

In all, the team has lost 17 points because of the late concessions, which have occurred in 9 percent of the 136 league games in team history. The carnage is even worse, if you add the four other games in which RSL allowed tying or winning goals (without getting one back) between the 82nd and 85th minute.

No wonder midfielder Clint Mathis said: "It has been time and time again."

Obviously, he wasn't pleased with the result.

But coach Jason Kreis said he was happy with the way his three-striker formation — a 4-3-3, a 4-5-1 … whatever you want to call it — worked to both create opportunities against the Colorado Rapids over the weekend, as well as prevent them.

“Defensively you've got the guys in the same positions, and it limits the amount of opportunities teams are getting against us, and that's what I like,” he said. “We need to continue to build on it. We have to realize that there is going to be that kind of service into the box and we've got to get more players in the box and we've got to finish those opportunities.”

Though most of its best chances went begging, RSL launched 18 shots and witnessed some terrific service from the flanks — notably, the two brilliant crosses that defender Robbie Russell served in to striker Robbie Findley, whose headers both times sailed wide.

Generally, RSL used Findley in the middle up top, with fellow strikers Yura Movsisyan and Fabian Espindola out wide. Both of them worked particularly well with the outside backs on their side of the field — Russell and Tony Beltran — and seemed to do well tracking back to help on defense.

“We're looking to get two players to most balls and when the ball gets to the wide spots, the high forward needs to work with the wide defender to defend and try to pinch and turn around and get some players around their wide midfielders,” Kreis said. “It's a lot of work, it's not easy. But our guys are capable.”

So RSL looked pretty good most of the night against the Rapids, and coach Jason Kreis wants to emphasize that, rather than dwell on the late equalizer that spoiled what would have been the team's first victory in five weeks.

But maybe he should be careful.

The Rapids, remember, were playing without striker Conor Casey and midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, two of the best players in the league who were away playing for the United States in its World Cup qualifying match against Honduras. And sure, RSL had its own issues, playing without suspended midfielders Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman. But the last time RSL grew too pleased with itself without considering an opponent's relative weakness, it laid the foundation for the ugly winless streak it's enduring now.

That was back in April, when RSL destroyed New England 6-0 before a roaring crowd at home.

The Revs were playing without seven potential starters that night, yet Kreis never mentioned that mitigating factor while raving about his own team during his post-game press conference, seemingly wanting to fuel his team's confidence. Neither did any of the players. Since then, though, all of them — plus, owner Dave Checketts — have said that they grew overconfident after that victory, and should not have forgotten that they still need to work hard to get results.

Certainly, they don't want to forget that lesson again.

Coach Jason Kreis acknowledged that it's going to be hard for his players to think about the good things they did against the Colorado Rapids last night, considering they walked off the field with a disappointing draw after a trademark last-minute mistake.

But “I’m going to keep hammering it into them all week that there is a lot of positive stuff to take out of that game,” he said. “If we fix that one small play, we are all extremely happy right now.”

That “one small play,” though, was the crucial difference between taking the full three points at home while snapping a six-game winless streak and wilting to another in a growing line of disappointments, when the Rapids' Omar Cummings blasted the equalizer off the crossbar in the 88th minute.

And that colors everything, especially considering RSL allowed that to happen seemingly a million times before, and plays its next two games on the road — where it hasn't won all season. It could easily return home to play the final game of the first half of the season against Toronto in two weeks still sitting on only 12 points in the MLS standings, and there was even a smattering of boos to accompany the final whistle — though Kreis at least enjoyed a positive assessment from owner Dave Checketts.

But as he said, Kreis is going to emphasize the good things RSL did, which made the draw a little more encouraging than it might have been otherwise. Even without midfielders Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman, his team played with more energy and fire than it had in weeks. It played confidently and aggressively with a new three-striker formation, and once again created chance after chance, the way it did in the early part of the season.

“Coach is right,” defender Tony Beltran said. “We have to take the positives from the game.”

In fact, RSL would have cruised in this one, had striker Robbie Findley buried either of his two clear headers that went wide in the first half, or if fellow striker Fabian Espindola hadn't angle his own header so low that it bounced up and over the crossbar early in the second.

And then there's striker Yura Movsisyan, who was finally rewarded with his second goal of the season and was poised to play the hero before Cummings equalized, but still could look back and nearly a half-dozen missed opportunities.

“I was really pleased with the commitment, the dedication, the hard work that our guys put in tonight,” Kreis said. “They really played with some self-belief, and I thought they really looked like a team that was wanting to fight and do all of those things together. … It was just about the guys working hard for each other.”

Too bad for RSL's under-18 club … it allowed a goal in the 73rd minute of its final group-stage game in the U-18 World Club Championship in Madrid today, losing to Rayo Vallecano of Spain and failing to advance to the knockout rounds.

Still, it was a respectable trip, with the team having previously played to draws against Partizan Belgrade of Serbia and Espanyol of Spain.

Midfielder Andy Williams' wife, Marcia, has been battling a rare form of leukemia and preparing for a transplant of umbilical-cord blood in Seattle that could save her life.

In a statement released by the team, she said doctors have actually located two units of cord-blood for the transplant scheduled next week, and that she faces an arduous regimen of chemotherapy and radiation before the procedure. First, she will have three days of chemo, then a day of rest, followed by four days of "total-body radiation" before the transplant the next day.

"The treatment that I am receiving before the transplant is called conditioning," she wrote, "the purpose of these treatment[s], chemo and radiation is to wipe out my own cells including all cancer cells. I will then need the new [umbilical-cord] stem cells to start producing new healthy ones. This is called engraftment. It will be a long road to recovery , but we are all praying for a cure."

Looks like RSL has caught another break against the Colorado Rapids this weekend.

Not only is midfielder Pablo Mastroeni unavailable for the Rapids because he's playing for the U.S. in its World Cup qualifying games this week, but now striker Conor Casey — you know, the league-leading scorer and reigning player of the month — has been called into the team, as well, and also won't play against RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium.

National team coach Bob Bradley called Casey into the team after the Americans lost badly 3-1 at Costa Rica on Wednesday night, mostly because striker Brian Ching is injured and unavailable. The Americans play Honduras in Chicago on Saturday night, where another loss would put them in a precarious position.

At least, the departures from the Rapids will put the teams on more even footing; RSL will be missing midfielders Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales, both suspended for yellow-card accumulation.

While the marquee team is trying to figure itself out before it's too late, RSL's under-18 side scored another promising result today at the U-18 World Club Championship in Madrid, Spain.

Adrian Saldana scored twice and Danny Mwanga added another strike as RSL scored three times in the second half to pull out a 3-3 draw with Espanyol of Spain in the second of three group-stage games. Salt Lake City's James Rogers — the Highland High School star — had two assists.

The team's second straight draw gives it a good chance of advancing out of the group stage — something no MLS youth team has done — if it can beat Spain's Rayo Vallecano in its final group match on Friday. Rayo Vallecano was a late entrant to the tournament, substituting when Argentina's River Plate withdrew at the last minute.

Nearly all season, coaches and players have been careful to not respond too drastically to disappointing results, frequently noting that there's still plenty of time to correct their course and reach the Major League Soccer playoffs again.

Which remains true.

But with the team riding a six-game winless streak and sitting at almost exactly the same point that it has in almost every other season of its existence — it's 3-6-2 with 11 points, after barely a third of the season — everybody knows that they need to start picking up those points soon, especially at home. The team plays its only home game in a month-long stretch when the Colorado Rapdis visit Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.

“I still think it's a long season and points are valuable now and we're trying to get as many as we can,” goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. “Obviously the longer we go without getting some road points, it's ging to get harder and harder for us at the end of the season. That's exactly what we don't want. We want to be somewhere where we're not going down to the last game, like we were last year.”

With its 11 points, RSL sits five points out of playoff position.

Curiously, it has exactly the same record as it did during what turned out to be a miserable inaugural season in 2005, as well as during its second season. At 3-5-3, it was oh-so-slightly better at this point last season — the only time the team has reached the postseason. The consistent early-season problems remind coach Jason Kreis of the way his old Dallas Fire team used to invariably struggle during the hot summer months of July and August, after habitually strong starts.

“Every team in this league has difficult patches,” he said. “So for me, maybe if we can get this out of our way, we won't have to deal with it again.”

Kreis added that late-season success last year should provide a measure of confidence, knowing that even after a slow start, the team can rebound to make the playoffs. “Obviously, there's a lot left to play for,” he said, “and we have the same guys here who got it done for us at the end of the year and made us think that we have one of the best teams in the league.”

General manager Garth Lagerwey denied speculation that RSL has begun to shop its players amid its frustrating six-game winless streak, but acknowledged that doing so is not out of the question.

“If you get to a point where things aren't working, then at some point you have to do something,” he said. “But we're not at that point.”

Both Lagerwey and coach Jason Kreis said they still believe the current players are capable of turning around the season, which is falling apart fast after opening with such promise. The team has lost four times and scored only three goals during its winless streak, and will play the rival Colorado Rapids at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday without two of its best players.

Midfielders Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman — the team's highest-paid player and its captain, respectively — will be serving one-game suspensions for yellow-card accumulation, though team officials expect defender Jamison Olave to escape sanction for throwing an elbow at San Jose's Ryan Johnson last weekend.

“We haven't made a negative assessment of this group yet,” Lagerwey said. “We think they're capable of turning this around, but so far the results haven't been good enough.”

Neither Morales nor Beckerman trained with RSL today, having been given a little extra time off knowing they won't play until RSL travels to the Los Angeles Galaxy on June 13. Meanwhile, though, the team added defender Jamil Fearrington as a trialist. The 23-year-old holds dual citizenship in the United States and Denmark, and played most recently for Boldklubben Frem in Copenhagen.

Looks like owner Dave Checketts is aspiring to work a little acquisition magic in football now, and not just futbol.

Checketts evidently is a strong contender to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams, according to columnist Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, as the current owners prepare to sell the franchise after inheriting it from the late Georgia Frontiere last year.

The owners have retained Goldman Sachs to facilitate a sale, Miklasz said, which he fears could lead to the Rams being controlled by an out-of-town owner. That's where Checketts comes in, as a suitor who would aspire to keep the team in St. Louis.

But questions remain about whether Checketts could afford to make a play for the Rams, valued at $929 million by Forbes magazine. Miklasz ventures that he would have to raise at least $450 million to acquire a 60 percent stake in the team, but “it would be a mistake to dismiss Checketts. He's resourceful, focused, organized and doggedly determined to get what he wants.”

Plus, he's pals with one of the current owners, Chip Rosenbloom. “Now comes the difficult part,” Miklasz writes, “coming up with enough money to get Rosenbloom's football team.”

Nick Marshall scored off a corner kick in the 73rd minute to give RSL's under-18 team a 1-1 draw against Partizan Belgrade of Serbia in its group-stage opener at the U-18 World Club Championship in Madrid, Spain.

That's a pretty promising result, considering that UEFA has Partizan — runner-up last year — as having the second-best youth system in Europe, according to RSL.

The team will play two more games in the group stage, as it aims to advance. Its first comes against Espanyol on Wednesday, before meeting Rayo Vallecano on Friday.

For all the challenges RSL will face against Colorado at Rio Tinto Stadium, there is one break it's going to catch:

No Pablo.

The Rapids' Pablo Mastroeni will miss the game to train with the U.S. men's national team as it prepares for its World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. The Americans play Costa Rica on the road Wednesday, before meeting Honduras on Saturday, meaning that arguably the biggest agitator in RSL history won't be making the trip to Utah.