L.A. begins life without Donovan

Landon Donovan has gotten used to missing a chunk of the MLS season due to his international duties. And once again, at the same time that David Beckham is absent stateside while on loan to AC Milan, Donovan is taking his own considerable star appeal away from league competition.
Donovan navigated the first 11 MLS games this year without missing a minute, but the Americans' all-time leading scorer has joined the U.S. for a stretch that could overlap with as few as four MLS games - or as many as eight.
L.A. is off to a surprising yet odd start, with just one loss, but also just one win through 11 games. The Galaxy are 1-1-9, including a current undefeated streak of nine matches that is the fourth-longest in club history.