The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 39

C4 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS If the national soccer coaches and players of Grenada, Honduras and Haiti are griping today, they have good reason. All three countries will be playing the U.S. in the first round of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup that begins tonight. The U.S. is the defending champion, is playing at home, is 21-0-1 all-time in the Gold opening round, and is coming off a second-place finish in the far more demanding Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Yet, despite these obvious U.S. has been given a considerable competitive break. Under pressure from the U.S., CONCACAF, which controls soccer in the North and Central American and Caribbean region, is allowing the U.S. to draw from a 30-man roster while the other 11 teams in the three-week tournament are limited to 23 players. The Gold Cup playing field, in other words, will not be a level one.

Astatement from U.S. Soccer said the provision was provided to the extreme circumstances that teams when playing in consecutive tournaments so close together. Just what those extreme circumstances are was unclear, especially since the U.S. team and soccer federation have stated that they would be fielding a reserve side in this tournament while taking the first-string American players to the Confederations Cup. The fact that the U.S.

has been allowed to add players after the other 11 teams in the tournament had named their rosters only underlines the injustice. Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre, for example, has selected a very young roster, one without such veterans as Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Rafael Marquez, Pavel Pardo and Carlos Salcido. Chuck Blazer, general secretary of CONCACAF and an American, said the move was made the objective of providing the best performance possible for the public, and in recognition that the back-to-back tournaments strain players and their Bob Bradley, the U.S. coach, immediately took advantage of generosity Thursday by adding seven players from his Confederations Cup team to his Gold Cup roster: goalkeeper Brad Guzan, defender Jonathan Bornstein, midfielders Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber and Sacha Kljestan, and forwards Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey. Clark, Feilhaber and Alti- dore all started in the 3-2 Confederations Cup final loss to Brazil in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Bradley is free to call upon any of the additional seven players as he sees fit during the July 3-26 tournament being played in 13 U.S. cities. Asked about the U.S. having an unfair advantage, Sunil Gulati, the president of U.S. Soccer, said he did not view it that way.

think a very big issue, he said. guess a competitive disadvantage to have played five games that ended three days ago 10,000 miles in the Confederations Cup. not being given the opportunity to play with two goalkeepers in any given game. not going to be allowed to dress more than 18. All of those things are the The U.S.

opens Group play against Grenada at Qwest Field in Seattle on Saturday; plays Honduras on Wednesday at RFK Stadium in Washing- tonand Haiti on July 11 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The U.S. and Mexico have each won the tournament four times and, are favored to square off in the July 26 final at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. first-round opponents in Group are Nicaragua on Sunday in Oakland, Panama on July 9 in Houston and Guadeloupe on July 12 in Phoenix. The tournament opens tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, where Canada plays Jamaica at 5 p.m.

and Costa Rica plays El Salvador at 7p.m. in Group A. grahame.jones@latimes.com U.S. gets a real man advantage GRAHAME L. JONES ON SOCCER a feud that has a hint of Shaq and Kobeto it.

Galaxy forward Landon Donovan rekindled images of that squabble when he blasted teammate David Beckham in Grant upcoming book, Beckham scheduled for a July 14 release. According to excerpts published in Sports Illustrated, Donovan portrays Beckham as a bad teammate, discusses pressure he received by Galaxy officials to give up his captaincy for Beckham when the English soccer star arrived in 2007, and the widespread influence that Beckham and Terry Byrne, his best friend and personal assistant, had on team management. AGalaxy spokesperson said Thursday that Donovan would notcomment until the book is released. The Galaxy also declined to comment. In the excerpts, Donovan questioned commitment to the team when a suspended Beckham did not attend a game in Houston last year.

The Galaxy lost that game tothe Dynamo and was eliminated from playoff contention. Donovan also said Beckham did not attend some optional practices and rally together his teammates during rough stretches in his first two seasons with the team. think of another guy where say he a good teammate, he give everything through all this, he still Donovan is quoted as saying last August. with say no, he The book also says that Byrne was hired as a Galaxy consultantand had a hand in finding a successor for Galaxy coach Frank Yallop. It was Byrnewho stood before Galaxy players in the locker room to introduce Ruud Gullit as the new head coach; Gullit signed a three- year deal in November 2007.

was weird for said Galaxy defender Chris Klein in the excerpt. Lalas is the general manager of this team, and then this other guy presenting our new coach. I was like, is going on Gullit resigned as coach in August for personal reasons. Wayne Gretzky was with the Kings, Wayne had a lot of input on the direction player-personnel Tim Leiweke, chief executive of AEG, which ownsthe Galaxy, is quoted as saying in book. just a fact.

You had a dominant guy that was the franchise. When Magic Johnson was with the Lakers, Magic had a lot of input about the direction they were headed. So does Kobe today. When David or his people spoke, we obviously The book also portrays Beckham as stingy about picking up the dinner check when he went out with teammates. that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to Donovan said in the excerpts.

time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways on the field, off the field. the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah. If paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether suspended or not. Show up and train hard. Show up and play Beckham will play his first MLS game of the season when the Galaxy plays the New York Red Bulls on July 16.

mario.aguirre@latimes.com Book critical of Beckham In excerpts, Donovan calls the star a bad teammate on Galaxy. Mario Aguirre Donovan Beckham Aday after jumping to Detroit, Ben Gordon told a Chicago radio station Thursday that the Bulls never made a contract offer even though General Manager Gar Forman claimed re-signing him was their No. 1 priority. mean they pursue me at all. They even make an offer, so it was pretty much a one-man Gordon told ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago.

Gordon agreed to a five- year deal worth more than $50 million with the Pistons on Wednesday after leading the Bulls in scoring the last four seasons. Under league rules, that deal be announced until next week. Forman declined to comment. He said when he was promoted to GM in May that the Bulls wanted to keep Gordon, but that would have probably meant paying the luxury tax and sacrificing cap space they could have next summer. It also would have meant a crowd in the backcourt.

Shaq in Cleveland Shaquille made his debut in Cleveland with a stated goal for next season. Le- Bron James craves a championship, and is here to serve. motto is very said. a ring for the Acquired last week in a trade with the Phoenix Suns, was welcomed by a team that believes he can bring the city its first major pro sports crown in 45 years. Flanked by Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry and Coach Mike Brown held court for nearly half an hour in front of an audience that included teamowner Dan Gilbert media members, season-ticket holders, corporate partners and kids from a summer camp.

Kidding around Donnie Walsh says he will consider giving more than a one-year deal to a free agent, following a report that he plans to do that with Jason Kidd ESPN.com, citing sources close to the process, reported that the Knicks would offer a three-year deal to the point guard. The Knicks hosted Kidd and his agent Wednesday on the first day of free agency and are hoping leave Dallas to come to New York. The midlevel exception is $5.6 million for the first year, and Walsh said last week he give a multiyear deal to a free agent unless he could move another contract off his payroll. The Knicks want to be major players in free agency next summer but still have about $18 million committed to Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries in the 2010-11 season. Also, veteran forward Grant Hill will visit the Knicks on Monday, agent Lon Babby said.

Hill played for Knicks Coach Mike in Phoenix. AROUND THE NBA Gordon says Bulls never offered a deal associated press and later punched a fan. He was suspended for a total of 86 games, the longest penalty for a physical altercation in NBA history. Off the court, he received a probation for pleading no contest to assault charges. The Lakers have now allocated roughly $81.5 million toward 11 players on next payroll, which puts them roughly $10 million into luxury- tax territory.

The Lakers were conscious of the tax heading into the off- season, so it remains to be seen who else they pursue. By getting Artest with the mid-level exception, a spending tool for teams that are over the salary cap, the Lakers have only a handful of possibilities remaining beyond a trade. Alarge payday for free- agent forward Lamar Odom has all but disappeared, though he could still sign a one- year deal with the team and try free agency again next season when more teams will have money to spend. The Lakers have also maintained contact with free-agent guard Shannon Brown and have agreed to talk again today. mike.bresnahan@latimes.com broderick.turner@latimes.com He averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Rockets last season and seem upset about taking a pay cut after making $7.4 million last season.

am very excited to finally be going to L.A.,” Artest said in astatement. years now, the Lakers have expressed interest in having me play for them, but we could never get the stars to align. finally a Laker and I wait to get on the court with Kobe, Pau and the rest of the team, and play for Phil look forward to helping the Lakers defend their championship, and it will be great to finally not get booed in the Staples Artest cannot officially sign the contract until the weeklong moratorium on announcing free-agent signings ends next Wednesday. The Lakers comment specifically on signing free agents until the moratorium ends, but the addition of Artest ended their pursuit of Ariza, who agreed to a five-year deal worth about $33 million with Houston a few hours after the Lakers came to terms with Artest. am happy with my Ariza told The Times.

glad this all worked out. The Rockets are going to give me a chance to improve my game and all you can ask Ariza played in all 82 regular-season games and stepped up his game in the playoffs, averaging 11.3 points while shooting a stellar 47.6% from three- point range. He also had memorable steals of two inbounds passes late in Games 1 and 3 of the Western Conference finals against Denver. agent, David Lee, said the 24-year-old forward passed up a more lucrative contract offer from another team to go to Houston. That team was believed to be Toronto.

was never about the Lee said. was about going someplace where you felt The courtship of Artest began with a phone call from Magic Johnson, continued over the phone with Jackson and ended during a seal-the-deal lunch Thursday with Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Jackson has always admired Artest from afar and believes he can coach Artest despite the sometimes irregular behavior. Artest offered mutual respect on Thursday. had a great talk today with Artest said.

a huge fan of his and I wait to show him what I can Bryant is a longtime supporter of Artest and even begged the Lakers to trade for him a few years ago, though the two had some brush-ups last season that demonstrated first-hand the unpredictability of Artest. In Game 2 of the West semifinals between the Lakers and Rockets, Artest was called for an over-the-back foul, complained to the referee, ran across the court to Bryant and got in the face of the guard. Artest was angry that Bryant elbowed him while the two were jostling underneath the basket. After they were separated, Artest pointed at Bryant and then pointed at his own neck, indicating where the blow had landed. Artest was ejected from the game and said afterward, told Kobe, got to relax.

hitting the wrong person. you know hitting Ron Two months before that, Artest began trash-talking to Bryant in a regular-season game. Bryant responded by scoring 31 points in the second half of a 102-96 Lakers victory. much of a Bryant said. kicked his Artest answered by saying, are not friends out there at all.

After the season, we might play pickup games or something like that. Not At the very least, Lakers practices should be more entertaining next season. In case the Lakers shaken their lack-of-toughness image by winning the championship, adding the barrel- chested Artest hurt. He is 6 feet 7, 260 pounds and afraid of practically no one. He gained several worth of notoriety as the centerpiece of one of the darkest moments, the infamous brawl in 2004 that involved the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and numerous fans.

Artest, then with the Pacers, went into the crowd after a beverage was thrown at him Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times SWITCHING UNIFORMS: Trevor Ariza, being chased by Ron Artest, agreed to a five-year deal with the Rockets. Artest deal ends time in L.A. Lakers, from one to quietly hound a guy during a routine inbounds pass and be willing to make a small play to win a big game, Ariza. Artest is a good shooter, but if the Lakers need someone willing to stand in the shadows for three quarters and emerge to make a big three-pointer before disappearing again, Ariza. Artest will supposedly make the Lakers tougher, but what is tougher than showing up every day and playing hard every play and fighting your way to a championship? Ariza has a ring, Artest does not, so the Lakers are giving up wins.

Ariza is a young 24, Artest is an old 29, so the Lakers are giving up age. Ariza shot the three-point line in the playoffs while Artest shot so the Lakers are giving up clutch. The one thing the Lakers are absolutely gaining here is money, which is exactly what you will be paying them in increasing increments next season. Artest willsigna three-year deal for about $18 million, roughly the same annual salary that the Houston Rockets gave Ariza. But Ariza was given two more years by the Rockets, pushing his total closer to $33 million.

Heaven forbid you would want to give a rising young star two more years, or spend some of your roughly $1 million-per- game playoff bounty to do it! Jerry Buss should have opened the pockets a little wider. And Mitch Kupchak should have jogged the memory a little deeper. Remember the last time the Lakers made a postseason acquisition of an aging star that appeared to give them an embarrassment of riches and render them unbeatable? The year was 2004, and they signed two of them, Gary Payton and Karl Malone, and you know what happened next. By the end of the season, the fractured chemistry imploded in a Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons that was so awful, afterward seemingly half the team either quit or was traded. Like Malone and Payton, Artest is a great acquisition in afantasy league.

But this is reality, and nothing in NBA history has ever been quite like reality. Everyone knows how, as an Indiana Pacer, he was suspended for 73 regular-season games and the postseason after going into the stands to confront fans and later punching one on the floor. Along time ago, huh? Yeah, all of five years. Did you know that he has also once shown up for practice in a bathrobe, asked to take a month off because he was tired, and been jailed for 10 days for domestic assault? Everyone said he was a changed man when he was traded from the Pacers to the Sacramento Kings, but he was suspended for a playoff game in 2006 for a flagrant elbow, and the Kings lost that series to the San Antonio Spurs in six games. Everyone said he changed again when he joined the Rockets, but in this playoff series against the Lakers, he was thrown out of two games while finishing the series hitting 17 of 61 shots in the last four games.

And Trevor Ariza has done what, exactly? Agree to come off the bench? Agree to guard the best shooter? Agree to take that shot when Bryant only NBA mistake occurred this week, when he followed the lead of his misguided agent, David Lee. By joining the Rockets as a miscast free-agent star, the kid now faces the possibility of a career filled with disillusionment and mediocrity, not to mention anonymity. Ariza was more valuable to the Lakers than to anyone else. This was his home, his comfort zone, the perfect spot for a supporting actor to shine from the wings. Why Ariza realize this? And why the Lakers have given him more time to realize this? This agreementoccurred within two days of the start of the free-agent period.

the Lakers have given him a chance to come to his senses? they have met somewhere in the middle? But, no, a flashy guy in a funky haircut beckoned, and theLakers bit, trading heart for Hollywood, quiet strength for false bravado, a rock for a hard place. While Lakersfans are now faced with an unsettled title defense, there is a shining word of certainty for every other fan who recently watched the next dynasty while shouting up the Done. bill.plaschke@latimes.com twitter.com/BillPlaschke Ron career numbers YearTeamRebAstPts Ind5.01.810.9 Sac.5.24.216.9 Totals5.13.216.1 Artest for Ariza is wrong move Plaschke, from.