Through the year with Cobi

The other day when I stopped by the Galaxy offices to borrow a phone (long story) staffers were putting stamps on envelopes bearing the thank-you gifts to season ticket holders. This year, it's a calender featuring Cobi Jones, the Galaxy's iconic midfielder. Cobi started with the squad in 1996, holds nearly every record on offense that exists for the team, and has been the 'face' of the franchise for years.

Because the envelopes were sealed, I didn't get a look at the calender, but I do remember that years ago, Cobi's dreads were a lot shorter.

There's a good chance that this is Cobi's last year of pro soccer, but he's showing that he still has the goods to contribute. It'll be hard to top Preki's exit, though, as the Chivas USA coach won an MVP award in his fourth decade, and also scored a crucial goal in his final game before retirement.

Cobi won't talk about leaving - he's not the type to indicate in advance that he's lacing up the cleats one final time, but for all the excitement being generated by people excited to see Beckham play in MLS for the first time, they might overlook that they could be getting the last chance to see an American soccer pioneer in action.