Just as we expected, midfielder Javier Morales practiced throughout the team's light workout today — albeit with a protective sleeve on his injured calf — and was supposed to make the trip for the game at Chicago on Saturday night.

“It didn't look like he was suffering at all,” coach Jason Kreis said.

Morales was injured in the late stages of the MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium, and was limping noticeably at the end of the game. But trainers said the playmaker suffered only a bad bruise, and should recover well. “We'll have to speak with him again over the next 24 hours,” Kreis said, and see how it's doing.

The way general manager Garth Lagerwey views it, RSL is going to need 43 points to make the playoffs again.

And that's all he cares about.

“It doesn't matter how anyone else does,” he said. “I don't care what place we're in. I don't care who wins. I don't care who ties. I don't care what happens with teams, at all — in any way, shape or form. I care if we get to 43 points.”

Considering that RSL is sitting on 23 points with a dozen games remaining — half at home — that means the team must get at least two points from its final six road games, starting at Chicago on Saturday night. And that's only if it wins all six remaining home games.

In all likelihood, it will need more than just two points on the road, which isn't the most re-assuring prospect, given that the team is just 1-6-2 for five points away from Rio Tinto Stadium so far. It has never won in Chicago, either, though Lagerwey believes it can change that.

“Clearly, we're going to get more points at home than we're going to get on the road,” he said. “But if you look at this in the way I hope our players do, when you go on the road to Chicago, it's a real opportunity, because the media and the fans don't expect us to get a point. And if we can get a win in Chicago — and I think we're fully capable of getting a win in Chicago — now you're setting yourself up really well for what are going to be two very difficult home games” against Seattle and Houston.

The team has gone 3-1-3 in the league since ending its seven-game winless streak, though, which is a pace that would be just barely good enough to reach 43 for the season. And although the recent exhibition victory over Mexico's Club America doesn't count in the league standings, Lagerwey views it as a further indication that the team is playing well, overall.

“Nobody counts that,” he said, “but we at least put on a quality performance and didn't do anything stupid.”

Owner Dave Checketts enjoyed a thrilling night watching the MLS All-Star Game in Rio Tinto Stadium, and came away with one overwhelming feeling:

He loves the shootout.

In fact, Checketts said he already has lobbied league commissioner Don Garber — and everybody else who would listen — to bring the penalty-kick shootout back as a way to break ties in league games, after watching Everton's Tim Howard duel with Kasey Keller of the Seattle Sounders in the dramatic shootout last night.

“If this doesn't make a case for the shootout being brought back, I don't know what does,” Checketts said. “I said, 'Look at the people staying, standing, screaming.' It was a classic match-up of the two best Americans who have ever played that position, right here in our stadium. It was classic.”

The league used penalty kicks to break ties during its first four seasons, but did away with them starting in the 2000 season. Many soccer purists believe that deciding games on penalties is akin to shooting free throws to decide a basketball game, but Checketts — who also owns the NHL's St. Louis Blues — believes that hockey has proven that shootouts can be successful.

“A lot of hockey games ended in ties, and everybody said you can't mess with traditional hockey,” he said. “But let me tell you something. There's a five-minute overtime at the end of every regular-season game, and then a shootout, and no one leaves the building. No one. The winning team gets an extra point for winning in the overtime or the shootout, but both teams get a point for ending in a tie, and you know what? We haven't rocked the foundations of hockey. I don't think anybody's been hurt by it.”

Midfielders Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Javier Morales all were given the day off from practice today, after their participation in the MLS All-Star Game last night, but still they provided some hopeful news.

Team officials said that the injury that Morales suffered near the end of the game was just a badly bruised calf, and nothing serious. He's expected back in training tomorrow, along with his teammates.

Meanwhile, general manager Garth Lagerwey said that Argentine winger Nelson Gonzalez has accepted the team's invitation to trial with them, and should arrive next week. Lagerwey doesn't expect the trial to last long before a contract is presumably offered, however, since he and coach Jason Kreis already have watched him play, and they just want to see how the 20-year-old Gonzalez get along in the RSL system.

"It's not like somebody's flying in who we're unfamiliar with," Lagerwey said. "What we want to see is how he does with us."

With the MLS All-Star Game in the rear-view mirror, RSL can get back to concentrating on its playoff push over the second half of the season, and with its roster mostly back intact following the Gold Cup.

But new winger Rachid El Khalifi is not expected to join the team for its game at Chicago on Saturday. Team spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said El Khalifi will remain in Salt Lake City to work on his fitness with team trainers, after joining RSL and signing a contract through 2012 -- same as midfielder Javier Morales and defender Jamison Olave -- just two days ago in the middle of what had been his offseason in the Dutch Second Division.

If that holds true and El Khalifi misses the Chicago game, his first chance to debut for RSL will come at home against Seattle on August 8.

Meanwhile, midfielder Jean Alexander will be loaned to the Austin Aztex for their game in the USL First Division this weekend, team officials said, after defender David Horst returned from his season-long loan to that team in order to provide RSL depth, with defender Robbie Russell having suffered a hip flexor injury that could keep him out a month.

Rachid El Khalifi was tired from his trip and still brushing up on his English, so his introductory remarks to reporters after training today were pretty simple. Still, RSL's newest winger nevertheless demonstrated a playful flair for the dramatic when asked about what skills he brings to the team.

“Come to the game,” he said, “and you will see.”

El Khalifi joined the team for the first time after receiving his work visa — he will wear No. 21 on his jersey — and said that although he has had learned what little he knows about the club and the area from Google, he saw some “good things” in the workout at Xango Field. He also said he joined RSL and Major League Soccer because “the club wanted me.”

It wasn't that he had any problems at SC Cambuur in the Dutch Second Division, he said. But he had played professionally in his native Holland for nine years and “for me, it was something else. I wanted to see something else. … and I hope I can do my best here and show them what I can.”

The 30-year-old was born and raised in the Netherlands, but his parents are native Moroccan.

Coach Jason Kreis was right — the injury that defender Robbie Russell suffered against FC Dallas last week was pretty severe.

Russell suffered a strained right hip flexor in the game's opening minutes, and the team said he will miss at least two weeks, and possibly a month. Given that, it has recalled defender David Horst from his loan with the Austin Aztex to give the team some depth in the back.

While everybody else is busy with preparations for the MLS All-Star Game, the RSL coaches are preparing to welcome their newest player.

Forward Rachid El Khalifi arrived in town tonight, a team official confirmed, and is expected to join the team in training for the first time in the morning. El Khalifi is joining RSL from SC Cambuur in the Dutch Second Division, as a potential replacement for Yura Movsisyan, who's leaving at the end of the season to join Randers FC in Denmark.

Coincidentally, Movsisyan was named MLS Player of the Week earlier today, after scoring twice in RSL's stunning come-from-behind 4-2 victory over FC Dallas at home last week.

In yet another move to get one of its younger players more experience, RSL has sent defender David Horst out on loan to the Austin Aztex of the USL's First Division.

That's the same team with which midfielder Jean Alexandre spent a weekend on loan earlier this season, and Horst marks the third young player that the team has sent out for a rest-of-season loan, after midfielder Alex Nimo and forward Tino Nunez.

Incidentally, the back injury that Alexandre brought back from his Gold Cup experience with Haiti apparently is not terribly serious. Alexandre was back in training with RSL today, and his injury is listed only as a strain.

Just had a look at the roster for the MLS All-Star Game, and it appears that midfielder Javier Morales will become the latest RSL player to honor teammate Andy Williams by wearing his jersey number.

Normally No. 11, Morales will wear No. 77 in the MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium next week — just as fellow midfielder Clint Mathis has done in RSL's last two games.

The gesture is meant as a show of support for Williams, whose wife Marcia has been battling leukemia at a hospital in Seattle. Williams just returned to the team, in fact, after unexpectedly rushing to her side recently after she took a turn for the worse and was admitted to an intensive care unit. She has improved markedly since then, however.

Midfielders Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre have returned to RSL after playing for their national teams at the Gold Cup, but Alexandre came back with a back injury that could sideline him awhile.

“So, not a perfect situation,” coach Jason Kreis said, “but still nice to have his face around.”

Johnson trained with the team today, however, after helping Canada reach the quarterfinals, where it lost to Honduras on a disputed penalty kick. But Johnson said it was still a good experience -- even though he missed a chance to meet RSL's Kyle Beckerman and the Americans in the tournament semifinal -- that can only help his development as a player.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “Fantastic experience. Great games. And an unfortunate penalty decision in the quarterfinal put us out. Hard one to go out on … But you need a little bit of luck, and we didn't get any.

“I feel confident coming back,” he added. “I feel in a better spot than I was when I left. It did wonders. It just let me know, sort of for myself, that I belong out there with those guys. Felt that I played some good games and I want to bring that experience and confidence here and try to provide a boost to these guys and try to get us on the right track.”

Don't expect to see Tino Nunez work his way into the lineup anytime soon.

RSL has loaned the young forward to Harrisburg of the USL Second Division for the rest of the season, a team spokesman said, clearing another roster spot in case it's needed. The City Islanders are sitting second behind Richmond on the table, with a 9-4-2 record for 29 points from 15 games.

Nunez, for his part, was a second-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft out of UC Santa Barbara in 2008, but has played only 18 minutes in three games for RSL this season. As a rookie last year, he started twice and played 263 minutes in nine games, with one goal.

New target man Pablo Campos acknowledged after his first day of training with RSL that things weren't quite going his way with the San Jose Earthquakes, even though he'd scored twice and assisted twice for them this season.

“Probably, I think it was the system that didn't help,” he said.

But now, he figures that playing at the top of RSL's 4-4-3 formation with all-star midfielder Javier Morales behind him will better suit his style. “I need a playmaker, a guy to play underneath me,” he said. “Here, we play the 4-3-3, so we have the triangle in the middle so the guy's going to play underneath me so he can serve the ball. That's how I know how to play.”

Former coach Frank Yallop at San Jose certainly didn't dispute that.

“Pablo has done fine for us,” Yallop said. “But we're going to need the roster spots” in a rebuilding effort. “He's a lovely kid. But he's going to a place that really wants him, and I wasn't sure Pablo was the right fit for what we're trying to do.”

Incidentally, the strangest moment of Campos' introduction came when he was asked why he did not continue playing in Sweden after last season. His answer? Too cold, bleak and depressing. To illustrate his point, he noted the country's suicide rate (which actually ranks 30th globally, according to the World Health Organization, only modestly higher than the United States).

Campos said that many Swedes -- particularly the elderly -- take their own lives during the depressing winter months, only to be discovered “a month later, when it starts to smell,” he said. “When it starts smelling, the apartments, people come -- the government comes and takes out the body. It's crazy.”

Just received word that midfielder Clint Mathis has received approval from the league to once again wear No. 77, in tribute to teammate and good friend Andy Williams while Williams is away tending to his ill wife.

Mathis wore Williams' number when RSL beat Club America in an exhibition game last week, but needed league approval to do so when the club returns to league play at Columbus on Saturday. He's expected to continue wearing the number while Williams is away; his wife, Marcia, has been hospitalized in Seattle while battling a rare form of leukemia.

And amid everything else that is going on with the team, former defender Ian Joy has checked in with an open letter to the media and the fans, following his departure last weekend to return to Germany and be closer to his young daughter.

Here it is:

"I never really had time to talk with the press or the fans after making the decision to leave RSL and move back to Europe.

"I first of all would like to thank Jason and Garth for giving me the opportunity to play soccer in the US and for standing by me with the decision to leave and be closer to my family. I would also like to thank Mr. Checketts for creating a fantastic soccer environment that many players never get to experience.

"I would like to thank all the staff and fans for giving me a lot of support during my time in Salt Lake and for all the good luck wishes.

"When I first talked to Garth about joining RSL, he made it clear to me that we needed to make the playoffs at all costs and I told him that if he signed me I would guarantee that the team would make the playoffs. There was never a doubt in my mind that I could make a difference to any team that wanted to be successful, quite simply because I am a winner and will do anything to make sure that that happens.

"My first few months in were hit by some poor team performances and a separation in my personal life from my wife and daughter, who departed Salt Lake and headed back to Germany. The separation from my daughter was very, very difficult, and were it not for Jason Kreis standing by me 100 percent and giving me the time off from the field (or for my new girlfriend Nichole) I would have left RSL last summer.

"However, I had made a promise to Garth that I wanted to fulfill and I knew I had to get my head on straight and get this team into the play-offs -- something we had NEVER in RSL history done before.

"I worked my way back to full fitness and into the team in July and then went on a run that I'm sure every REAL fan will never forget. I personally went on a run of games without defeat that I am to this day very proud of. After making my return to the lineup vs. Houston on July 3, 2008, I lost only one game out of the 13 that I started in the 2008 stretch run.

"I have heard and read that some people say I stole money from this team -- I will not stand for any of it! Those fans seem to forget that Real Salt Lake had never been a successful team -- whatsoever -- until Jason and Garth took over (and until Ian Joy walked in the front door!)

"Yes, my time in Salt Lake was sour because of my personal problems at the start of the 2008 season and the injury I had at the beginning of 2009, but this team has taken a huge step in the right direction. To have been a part of that, I am very proud and feel like I justified the money Real paid me.

"This team has the chance to be very successful this year and I have the confidence the boys will make it to the play-offs once again.

"I move back to Europe now and I will have the chance to be closer to my daughter and help her grow over the next important years. I will search for a club and look for my next challenge. One day I hope to return to MLS, as I had a very enjoyable time here and I feel like the league is going places. Until then, my MLS Cup dream is on hold ...

"Thank you very much for all the good memories and I wish everyone good luck."

Looks like Real Salt Lake already is bracing for the loss of striker Yura Movsisyan.

The team traded for imposing striker Pablo Campos on Wednesday, sending a second-round draft pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft to the San Jose Earthquakes for a player who also can help add some depth to the depleted team. Team officials said the 26-year-old Brazilian will join RSL in training on Thursday, and make the trip when it plays at Columbus on Saturday.

Otherwise, the team was down to 14 available field players because of international absences and suspensions.

A team spokesman said RSL was hoping to land Campos when he joined MLS before the season after playing a season in Sweden. But the Earthquakes won a special lottery for him, and he has scored twice in 12 games for them this season. The draft pick that RSL is giving up is the one it received in compensation when it dealt young defender Kyle Davies to FC Dallas earlier this season.

Campos is regarded as an understudy to Movsisyan, who will play for RSL the rest of the season before joining Randers FC in Denmark, potentially leaving the door open for Campos to take over his spot.

Midfielder Javier Morales acknowledged that he did not enjoy as strong a start for RSL as he did last year, so he wasn't expecting to learn that he and teammate Kyle Beckerman will be named to the Major League Soccer all-star team next week.

“I was surprised because I didn't have a good beginning of the season,” he said. “Last season, I was better, no? Better at the beginning. But now, I have found my [rhythm], so I feel good.”

All-star coach Dominic Kinnear and league commissioner Don Garber will not announce until next week their seven picks to complete the 18-man roster that will play Everton FC of the English Premier League at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 29. But league sources confirmed today that Morales and Beckerman will be among them, fulfilling the expectation that at least one RSL player would be selected, to assure the host team would be represented.

“It's extremely gratifying,” coach Jason Kreis said. “I feel good for those guys. I feel it's a good reflection on all of us, really -- the club, all the players, all the staff, with how hard we've worked to build this into a competitive team with good players.”

Only one RSL player has ever appeared in an MLS All-Star Game, and that was defender Eddie Pope, who played the final seven minutes of the 2007 game after being a commissioner's pick in his final pro season.

But it's not out of the realm of possibility that either Morales or Beckerman could start the game. Although the league already has announced its First XI, those selections were based on balloting among fans, coaches, players and the media, and do not necessarily comprise the players who will start the game.

Team officials were disappointed that Morales was not chosen as an all-star last season, when he enjoyed a breakout year as its best player. But after a sluggish start this season, he has started to come around, leading the team with four assists while playing 14 of its 16 games.

His good friend Beckerman, with whom he appears in the intentionally silly "Javi & Kyle Show" produced by the team for its official blog, scored twice and added an assist while playing all but one minute of 14 of the first 15 games, before leaving to play for the United States in the Gold Cup, where he has made a strong impression. He might not return to RSL until a day or two before the all-star game, if the Americans reach the Gold Cup final on July 26, and could face a strenuous schedule with RSL resuming its season three days later at Chicago.

“Now, I'm just hoping that neither one of them plays more than 15 minutes” in the all-star game, Kreis joked, so they won't get hurt.

In any case, their club teammates were thrilled to learn the news after practice. “I'm very happy to hear that,” defender Nat Borchers said. “They deserve it. Both of those guys have been tremendous for us this year.”

Not much new on the condition of Marcia Williams, the wife of midfielder Andy Williams whose battle with leukemia took a frightening turn last week and forced her husband to make an emergency trip to see her in Seattle, though she has improved and stabilized since then.

But midfielder Clint Mathis has done what he can to keep the family in his thoughts.

The veteran is Williams' closest friend on the team. They room together on the road, and they're often seen leaving the practice field together. So it made sense that with Williams missing when RSL played its exhibition against Mexico's Club America last weekend, Mathis wore Williams' No. 77 jersey as a tribute. Coach Jason Kreis said that was “special” because it came “directly from the players themselves.”

“I just wanted to throw a little gesture, because he is a friend, to show him that he's still with us,” Mathis said. “He does have another family.”

Indeed, the Williams saga has galvanized the team and players all around Major League Soccer for the past year. But that's also why Mathis said he tries to lift the family's spirits when he can, without dwelling on the illness that is upending their lives.

“I just try to make him laugh, make her laugh, just because they always have negativity going on,” he said. “So [I just try to be] as positive as I can be when I'm around him” and simply talk about “normal stuff” because Williams is so often peppered with questions about the family's situation.

Williams is not expected to be with the team this weekend when it plays at Columbus, but Mathis probably wouldn't be allowed to wear No. 77 again, even if he wanted to, since that's a league game. But still, his admiration of his teammate and his wife goes far beyond the number on a jersey.

“I couldn't even imagine,” Mathis said. “I couldn't put myself in his shoes. There's no way. It has to be so hard. I don't know how he shows up at practice and games. He's a strong person, that's for sure.”

Hopefully, you've seen our news that RSL already is pursuing two international players with the summer transfer window opening today, but here's a little more on the criticism that agent Patrick McCabe directed at the club.

McCabe represents striker Yura Movsisyan, and said he “can't say that I'm happy” with the way Movsisyan's pending move to Denmark's Randers FC has worked out. He claimed that RSL dragged its feet on re-signing his client, and blamed general manager Garth Lagerwey for making Movsisyan feel as though he was not a priority by not offering him a contract extension until four months after McCabe requested one at the end of last season.

“I don't think he's handled the situation that well,” McCabe said.

McCabe said he had asked Lagerwey to make his client an offer to re-sign last November, but “didn't get a serious offer on paper until March” -- a point that Lagerwey acknowledged, though he declined to comment further to avoid being drawn into battle with McCabe through the media. By then, the season was about to start, McCabe said Movsisyan was feeling unwanted by RSL at the same time that interest in him from European teams was “picking up ... so we just said, 'You know what, we'll take our chances.'”

McCabe also said RSL tried to trade Movsisyan to several teams during his slow start -- “they were looking to dump him,” he said -- and later asked Randers FC for a transfer fee “so far out of the depth of reality” that Randers concluded RSL was not negotiating in good faith and therefore did not respond. So Movsisyan will play out the season with RSL and join Randers once it's over and his contract has expired.

Neither side would talk specifically about the numbers, but it's believed Randers offered something in the $250,000 range for a transfer fee to buy Movsisyan out of his contract immediately, while RSL and Major League Soccer (which owns all player contracts) wanted upwards of $700,000. If true, both figures represent somewhat extreme positions, given the circumstances.

For his part, Movsisyan has said he will remain dedicated to helping RSL reach the playoffs, and both Lagerwey and coach Jason Kreis have said they believe Movsisyan will remain true to his word.

And while it's worth remembering that agents obviously have their own agendas to advance in situations like these, it's also worth noting that McCabe also represents striker Robbie Findley, who soon will be in the same situation at Movsisyan -- facing the final year of his contract next season while harboring dreams of one day playing in Europe (he trained briefly in Denmark last offseason). McCabe made it clear he doesn't want a repeat scenario.

"If Salt Lake wants to make Robbie a priority,” he said, “they better do it early."

Say hello to your first RSL transfer target of the summer -- Rachid El Khalifi.

The team won't confirm it, but sources said that the Dutch winger has agreed to a contract with RSL and will join it during the month-long transfer window that opens tomorrow. El Khalifi trained with the team during the preseason, but the economics of a deal did not work out then; that's different now, with RSL having cleared a fair bit of salary-cap space with the recent departures of striker Luis Miguel Escalada and defender Ian Joy.

El Khalifi still must clear immigration and receive a work permit, which is why team officials won't confirm his identity. But general manager Garth Lagerwey did acknowledge that the team has offered contracts to two international players, and that one of them has agreed to the terms.

The 30-year-old El Khalifi plays for SC Cambuur in the Netherlands, where he has scored seven goals in 58 games the past two seasons. He also has scored 33 goals in eight full seasons with three teams in the Dutch Second Division, and can play on either side of the 4-3-3 formation.

And while Lagerwey would not confirm identities, he did say that RSL is not in the mix to land Danny Szetela, the American midfielder who's returning to Major League Soccer from Spain.

Coach Jason Kreis will have far from a full roster when RSL plays at Columbus on Saturday, with three players away at the Gold Cup, two others recently released, midfielder Andy Williams attending his ill wife in Seattle and striker Fabian Espindola serving a red-card suspension.

But still, he believes the team can get it done.

“We feel that we have a group that's really, really together,” he said after practice today, when the team worked out with just 14 players, plus goalkeepers. “Really, like almost like a tight-knit family. And when you have only 14 players at training, it's pretty easy to see why that would be. We have a group that really believes in each other and we feel like we can go into this game this weekend with the exact players that we have available and we can be fine.”

Kreis noted that RSL at least will have substitutes available at every position, even though defender Ian Joy was the latest to leave the team, having had his contract terminated over the weekend so he can return to Germany to be near his young daughter. Striker Luis Miguel Escalada recently left, too, when RSL decided not to pick up an option on his contract.

“We feel like we can be OK,” Kreis said.

It won't hurt that the Crew will be depleted, as well, with striker Robbie Rogers and all-star defender Chad Marshall away at the Gold Cup and midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo out serving a yellow-card suspension. But winning against one of the three teams in the league that remain undefeated at home figures to remain a pretty tough challenge.

Striker Yura Movsisyan plans to leave Real Salt Lake — the only question is when.

Movsisyan has finalized a three-deal to play for Randers FC in Denmark, after traveling there over the weekend. General manager Garth Lagerwey confirmed the deal to me, as did Movsisyan's agent and a team official at Randers in separate internet reports.

But while the deal is scheduled to commence on Jan. 1, long after the Major League Soccer season ends, Lagerwey said negotiations are under way between MLS and Randers that could free Movsisyan to leave RSL immediately. Movsisyan remains in Denmark, and potentially might not return if a deal is reached to buy him out of his contract with the league.

The move was the one at which Lagerwey was hinting last week, when he said his confidence in the current roster depended on the result of a transaction was pending.

Movsisyan has enjoyed a resurgence with RSL, scoring seven goals in the final 11 games of last season while leading the club to its first playoff appearance, and scoring four times this season. He did not manage a single shot, however, in RSL's disappointing 1-1 home draw with San Jose on Friday night.

While RSL played San Jose tonight, Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre were away with their national teams — the United States, Canada and Haiti, respectively — at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Johnson played 71 minutes in Canada's 1-0 opening win over Jamaica today, while the U.S. and Haiti will play their first games Saturday. The U.S. meets Grenada while Haiti plays Honduras.

General manager Garth Lagerwey echoed his coach in speaking about potential transfer targets for RSL, saying that although the team has two senior roster spots open, it really has only enough room under the league salary cap to add one player once the summer transfer window opens.

And “it would very likely be ... a complimentary player,” he said.

Which made what he said later all the more intriguing.

Asked whether he would be comfortable playing the rest of the season without any new additions — considering how often team officials have expressed confidence that “we have the answers within the group” — he hesitated a moment. “The honest answer is that it depends on another thing that I can't talk about,” he said. “There's another transaction that's out there, and depending on how that comes out, then I would ... ask me in a week. That's about the best I can do for you.”

Pressing Lagerwey didn't go anywhere. All he would say was “there's an iron in the fire that we'll have resolution on in a week or so.”

Just speculating here, but that sounds like there's a chance that RSL will lose one of its better players — haven't heard any specific rumors lately, though — which would make Lagerwey uncomfortable with the prospect of going the rest of the way without any additions. And maybe if this mystery transaction doesn't happen, the team is comfortable with its current lineup.

In any case, Lagerwey said the team must win tonight, given its situation in the standings, which would probably re-assure the organization that it's headed in the right direction, despite its earlier slump. The game against the Earthquakes will conclude a five-game stretch since the skid during which team officials have tried to make a level-headed assessment of the club, and RSL has not lost in that span.

“So far, that trend has been positive,” Lagerwey said. “If we're able to get a result ... I think the net assessment of where we're going would be positive. But again, there are no lines in the sand.”

Lagerwey did not rule out being more aggressive than simply acquiring a “complimentary” player, either. “There are trades out there to be more aggressive,” he said, “if we feel like that's necessary. ... If we need to make changes, we will. We have the ability to make changes if we need to, but we're not going to make changes unless we feel we need to.”

Incidentally, the team has two open spots on the senior roster because it not only did not pick up a contract option on striker Luis Miguel Escalada this week, but it also no longer has to count on-loan midfielder Alex Nimo against the roster limit because of a rule change.

Suddenly, that MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium is looking even more intriguing.

That's because American midfielder Clint Dempsey could be playing for Everton FC when it visits to meet the MLS All-Stars on July 29, if he winds up moving from Fulham, which is a distinct possibility according to The Sun of London, after Dempsey turned down Fulham's latest offer of a contract extension.

That would give the Toffees two high-profile Americans, including goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Even more interesting might be learning whether MLS commissioner Don Garber will use one of his two commissioner's picks on David Beckham, who has not played for the Los Angeles Galaxy yet this season but is expected to return this month and would theoretically goose interest in the game — however ridiculous it would be to reward a guy who's so dedicated to the league that he's been playing in Italy all year.

Then again, it will be fascinating to watch how Beckham and his Galaxy teammates get along, now that they have helped paint an unflattering portrait of the superstar in a new book by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated. According to The Beckham Experiment, the global icon is a bad captain, a bad teammate and a cheapskate who wouldn't even reach for the dinner check despite his vast fortune.

“By now, in fact, Donovan no longer agreed with the 'good teammate, bad captain' verdict that so many other Galaxy players had reached on Beckham," according to an excerpt from the book. "Donovan was convinced that Beckham wasn't even a good teammate anymore: 'He's not. He's not shown that. I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good teammate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care. But with [Beckham] I'd say no, he wasn't committed.'"

Sit back, soccer fans, and watch the fireworks. Beckham is due back in a couple of weeks.

Coach Jason Kreis confirmed in no uncertain terms today that RSL indeed is now in the market to add a player once the league's summer transfer window opens in two weeks, now that it has an open roster spot with the departure of striker Luis Miguel Escalada.

“We have a roster spot available and we have a bit of salary cap room,” he said, “so we're looking to add a player, for sure.”

Naturally, Kreis did not want to disclose to reporters exactly what he's seeking.

But it's probably not a stretch to assume it's a striker, considering the team is relatively thin up top — particularly with the back line back to full strength and the midfield pretty solid, at least when the team gets back the guys who are away playing in the Gold Cup. General manager Garth Lagerwey already acknowledged on a radio show that the team could be looking in that direction.

At the same time, though, Kreis made it sound like he didn't expect to make a huge splash with any potential signings.

“I don't foresee us making a bunch of changes to try to improve this team,” he said, “I just think there's going to be some little additions, probably, and a little bit of mindset” adjustment from the first half, when RSL gave away six points in the standings “that we clearly had our hands around when we had leads late in games. We do a better job of that, and we're going to be just fine.”

Incidentally, Escalada reportedly is seeking a move back to Ecuador, where the native Argentine was playing before joining RSL in the preseason.