Turf tension

Players just don't like that stuff, in general. It could be part superstition, but for some, it's legitimately difficult to deal with and many dread the matches that take place on the surface. The Galaxy will play on turf in both Toronto and New York in upcoming games.

"We pretty much have the turf portion of the season coming up," said Kyle Martino.

Although the Home Depot Center has an artificial surface practice field, the Galaxy didn't train on it prior to their road trip to Toronto.

"It is a lot different and we do need to get used to it, but playing on that stuff really wears you down, so you almost want to spend as little time on it as possible. Everyone has played on it before and knows what it’s going to be like. We’ll get a day on it in Toronto – hopefully the day before the game we’ll train on it and get used to it a little bit."

Martino didn't expect to start versus Toronto, because he's still recovering from a groin injury. He was hoping to get some late-game minutes as a sub.

Galaxy coach Frank Yallop pointed out recently that injured players often get frustrated watching team games, wishing they could participate. Some cope by cutting short the agony.

Martino, who missed the latest SuperLiga match due to his injury, only watched the first half of the epic Galaxy/FC Dallas clash.

"I actually turned it off at halftime – thinking that we had it in the bag and it was a lockup. Then Cobi Jones was giving me updates, calling me every ten minutes and giving me the score. I didn’t believe him. It was like the old school All-Star games."