Galaxy earn point, clinch berth in the MLS playoffs
The Galaxy had the simplest of playoff scenarios Saturday. It was so simple, that on the surface, not even the Galaxy could have failed the task.
The Galaxy needed a win or a draw against Real Salt Lake to clinch a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs.
After allowing a firsthalf goal and missing a penalty, the Galaxy (13-128) eventually found a muchneeded one point thanks to Douglas Costa's penalty, officially in the 68th minute, to secure the 1-1 draw in front of 26,674 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The draw moves the Galaxy to 47 points in the Western Conference and into fourth place with one game remaining — and more importantly clinches a berth in the MLS playoffs.
At the moment, it didn't
THE SCORE
GALAXY 1, REAL SALT LAKE 1
Up next: Galaxy at Houston, Oct. 9, 2 p.m., SpecSN,
appear as if the Galaxy would get the chance to tie. For the second time in the game Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez went down after contact in the penalty area. Initially, referee Kevin Stott didn't rule the penalty, but after checking with video review, he pointed the spot and Costa stepped up and converted.
RSL opened the scoring in the 26th minute on a goal by Sergio Cordova. That came approximately 10 minutes after Riqui Puig missed a penalty kick after he was fouled in the attacking area.
Converting penalties have been a sore spot for the Galaxy this season. With Costa's converting his, the Galaxy is now 9 of 14.
The names on the U.S. team have changed, the Americans' dominance has not.
A'ja Wilson scored 19 points, Kelsey Plum added 17 and the United States beat China 83-61 Saturday in Sydney to win its fourth consecutive gold medal at the women's basketball World Cup.
“It feels great,” said Wilson, who was selected as the tournament's MVP. “We came here on a mission, we got it. We got gold. Now we're going home with some hardware. It feels great to us. Australia was great to us. I didn't see any kangaroos, but it's OK because we are leaving with a gold.”
This was one of the most dominant teams in the Americans' storied history in the World Cup that now has won 11 gold medals. They've won four straight gold medals for the first time. This also was the biggest win in a goldmedal game, surpassing the 20-point wins that the Americans had done twice.
Elliott: Next Gen car a step backward
NASCAR's most popular driver said the sport has taken an unacceptable step backward in safety with its new Next Gen car, a rare public offering of opinion by Chase Elliott.
NASCAR's top drivers essentially have turned into an angry mob as they head into today's playoff race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are both sidelined with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware will race with a broken foot. All three drivers were injured in crashes in NASCAR's new Next Gen car.
The car had a honeymoon phase when it debuted at the start of the year because it delivered on its promise to improve the racing and level the competitive playing field. And while the Next Gen faced some bugs in the first seven months, the car is now experiencing serious problems during the playoff portion of the season.
That's created a growing sense of urgency from the drivers that NASCAR must soften the rear of the cars in the interest of safety.
Bowman and Busch were both injured when the rear of their cars hit the wall. Because the Next Gen was designed to be durable, their crashes looked routine, when